Do you want to learn about interjections in English? If your first thought is, “huh?”, you’re already on the right track. Other interjections — including “ow,” “aha,” and “uh-oh” — can also help you express surprise or sudden emotions. Using these little words correctly (and spontaneously) makes you sound more like a native speaker of English.
Interjections in English differ from those in other languages. For example, if a native English speaker bumps their head, they might say, “Ow!” But someone speaking Spanish might instead say “¡Ay!” or “¡Uy!”
To truly sound like a local in the English-speaking world, you’ll need to learn and use English interjections. In this guide, we’ll look at 27 examples to get you started.
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What are interjections?
Interjections are short words or phrases that express emotions or reactions. Commonly used interjections in English include “wow,” “mhm” and “psst.” Such words convey immediate feelings or attitudes and add a little spice to everyday speech. We use interjections in many ways, including:
- to express happiness, surprise, disgust or agreement
- to demand something
- to interrupt a thought or speech
How to use interjections
Most interjections can stand alone as exclamations, though they’re often integrated into sentences for emphasis. In either case, these words can generally be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning.
You’ll typically hear interjections in speech. But you might see or use them in creative or informal writing, such as in emails to friends or messages to close colleagues on Slack or Teams. Interjections are not normally used in formal writing.
Interjections can be useful when you need to add some emotion to your writing. When writing with interjections, remember to use the appropriate punctuation after each interjection to set it apart from whatever follows. For standalone interjections, an exclamation point is often appropriate. If you’re working an interjection into a longer sentence, it should probably be preceded and/or followed by a comma.
Common interjections in English
English interjections can be categorized into two broad types: primary and secondary interjections.
Primary interjections are noises we make to express feelings or emotions. (“Mhm” is an example of a primary interjection.) Because these interjections are noises, you may see them spelled in various ways. We’ve used the most common spellings here.
Secondary interjections are words that can function as other parts of speech but can also be used as interjections. (“Well” is an example of a secondary interjection.) In the table below, we’ve listed primary and secondary interjections together.
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| Interjection | Purpose | Example |
| aha | to express that you understand or have discovered something | “Aha, now I see what you mean!” “Aha! My keys are over there!” |
| aw/aww | to express disappointment to express that you find something cute | “Aw, do we have to do our homework?” “Aww! Your daughter is adorable.” |
| brrr | to express that you feel cold | “Brrr! It’s absolutely freezing!” |
| duh | to express that you think a statement is obvious or stupid | “Duh, didn’t you know that?” |
| ew | to express disgust | “Ew, what is that smell?” |
| hmm | to express uncertainty | “Hmm, I’m not sure about that.” |
| huh | to express confusion or bewilderment to express disagreement | “Huh? Could you repeat that, please?” “Huh, I don’t like that idea at all.” |
| mhm | to express agreement | “Mhm, I totally agree.” |
| no way | to express refusal or surprise | “No way! I am not doing that.” |
| phew | to express relief | “Phew. You arrived just in time.” |
| oops/whoops | to say you had a small accident or did something embarrassing | “Oops, I spilled some wine on the carpet.” |
| ouch/ow | to express pain | “Ouch! That really hurt.” |
| ugh | to express strong disgust | “Ugh, the dog rolled in a rotting fish — she smells awful.” |
| uh | to express hesitation | “We’re, uh, not sure she’ll like the cake.” |
| uh-huh | to express agreement | “Did you see the email I sent you?” “Uh-huh.” |
| uh-oh | to express apprehension | “Uh-oh, Mom looks angry.” |
| well* | to express surprise, relief or anger | “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.” |
| wow | to show that you are surprised or impressed | “Wow! What an incredible sunset.” |
| yay | to show that you’re very pleased | “Yay, you’re coming too!” |
* There are many other ways to use “well.” For example, you can use it to show agreement or acceptance, e.g. “Well, I suppose I can help if you really need me to.”
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Interjections to express a wish or instruction
These short utterances express demands or requests.
| Interjection | Purpose | Example |
| psst | to get someone’s attention | “Psst! Do you have a pen?” |
| shh | to tell someone to be quiet | “Shh! I’m trying to concentrate.” |
| shoo | to tell someone/something to go away | “Shoo! Get out of the kitchen.” |
Interjections in messages
Interjections in written messages are often abbreviations or acronyms. These informal exclamations are appropriate to use with friends or (very) close colleagues at work.
| Interjection | Meaning | Purpose | Example |
| LOL | laughing out loud | to express laughter | “LOL! That can’t be true!” |
| WTH* | what the hell | to express surprise/anger | “WTH! You can’t do that.” |
| OMG | oh my God | to express surprise/anger | “OMG, no way!” |
* You’ll also see “WTF,” meaning “What the f- – -!”
Yay! Now you know lots of English interjections
Now that you know some of the most common interjections in English, you can use them to add emotion to your speech and informal writing. Whether you’re expressing annoyance, surprise or delight, these tiny words can help you sound more like a native English speaker.
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Laura Jones
Laura is a freelance writer and was an ESL teacher for eight years. She was born in the UK and has lived in Australia and Poland, where she writes blogs for Lingoda about everything from grammar to dating English speakers. She’s definitely better at the first one. She loves travelling and that’s the other major topic that she writes on. Laura likes pilates and cycling, but when she’s feeling lazy she can be found curled up watching Netflix. She’s currently learning Polish, and her battle with that mystifying language has given her huge empathy for anyone struggling to learn English. Find out more about her work in her portfolio.
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