我的天啊
wǒ de tiān a
The Chinese way to say omg is 我的天啊 (wǒ de tiān a).
我的天啊 is used to express shock, surprise or disbelief, functioning similarly to the English phrase 'Oh my God'. Other ways to express similar sentiments include the informal 哇塞 for excitement or admiration, and 真的假的 to convey shock or disbelief by asking 'is it true or not?'
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'my heaven ah', where 天 (tiān) means sky or heaven.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwanese Mandarin, the term 喔唷 is commonly used to express surprise or shock.
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 啊 (a) at the end is an exclamation particle. You can omit this particle to create the shorter version 我的天 (wǒ de tiān).
How do you pronounce it?
wǒ de tiān a
Did you know?
- While 我的天啊 refers to 'heaven', Chinese speakers often use the phrase 我的妈呀 which means 'my mother ah' to express the same shock.
- The word 天 (heaven) in 我的天啊 is the same root used in the phrase 天气 for 'weather', as the sky was historically seen as the source of all atmospheric events.
- The informal 哇塞 (wā sāi) is thought by some linguists to have evolved from a mimicry of the sounds made by people in amazement or an adaptation of foreign sounds.
Examples in context
- 他居然迟到了，哎呀！Oh my, he's late!
- 天啊，这个消息太让人吃惊了！OMG, this news is so shocking!
- 哇塞，这件礼物太棒了！OMG, this gift is amazing!
- 昨天他们竟然结婚了，真的假的？OMG, they actually got married? Is it true or not?
- 喔唷，这个新闻我听过了！OMG, I've heard about this news!
- 我的天啊，这也太贵了！Wǒ de tiān a, zhè yě tài guì le!Omg, this is too expensive!
- 我的天啊，你竟然赢了！Wǒ de tiān a, nǐ jìng rán yíng le!Omg, you actually won!
- 我的天啊，外面在下大雨。Wǒ de tiān a, wài miàn zài xià dà yǔ.Omg, it is raining heavily outside.
Example conversation
Yuting and Junjie are looking at a photo of a huge cake.
- 雨婷 Yuting我的天啊，这个蛋糕真大！Wǒ de tiān a, zhè ge dàn gāo zhēn dà!Omg, this cake is really big!
- 俊杰 Junjie是啊，我们吃得完吗？Shì a, wǒ men chī de wán ma?Yeah, can we finish it all?
- 雨婷 Yuting我觉得很难。Wǒ jué de hěn nán.I think it will be hard.
- 俊杰 Junjie没关系，慢慢吃吧。Méi guān xi, màn màn chī ba.It's okay, let's just eat slowly.
