ouah
/wa/
The French phrase for "woah" is ouah.
Waouh! is a French equivalent of "wow" or "woah" used to express surprise, astonishment or admiration.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In France, you may also hear the informal regional expression Eh ben dis donc! to convey astonishment or shock.
How do you pronounce it?
/wa/
When do people say it?
To convey a wider range of emotions such as surprise, disappointment, disbelief or even flirtatiousness, French speakers often use the informal exclamation Oh là là!
Did you know?
- If you wish to stop a horse in French, you would not use ouah but rather the command Haut !, which sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
- The word ouah is sometimes used in French to represent the sound of a dog barking, which can lead to confusion if not used with the correct emotional context.
- The spelling waouh is a relatively recent adoption into the French language to phonetically mimic the English sound of amazement.
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are looking at a beautiful view from a mountain top.
- LéaOuah, la vue est incroyable d'ici !Woah, the view is incredible from here!
- LucasOui, c'est vraiment impressionnant.Yes, it's truly impressive.
- LéaRegarde, on voit même la mer !Look, we can even see the sea!
- LucasC'est fantastique, Léa.It's fantastic, Léa.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ouah, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
