呸
pēioffensive, strong
The English phrase "yuck" can be translated into Chinese in several ways, with 呸 (pēi) being the default form. Wiktionary also lists 惡心 / 恶心 (ěxin) and 啐 (cuì).
Meaning: uttered to indicate disgust (intj)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 呸 | pēi | offensive, strong |
| 惡心 / 恶心 | ěxin | |
| 啐 | cuì | |
| 哎呀 | āiyā | |
| 哎 | āi | |
| 唉 | ài |
You can use 恶心 or 噁心 to describe something that is physically or morally revolting, nauseating or disgusting. Other interjections like 哎呀, 哎 and 唉 are also available in the language.
Which one should you use?
The term 恶心 (or 噁心) is used to describe the sensation or quality of being disgusted, whereas 呸 is an interjection used to express contempt or to spit out something unpleasant.
How do you pronounce it?
pēi
Did you know?
- While 恶心 usually means 'disgusting', it can also be used as a verb meaning to deliberately annoy or harass someone to make them feel miserable.
- Using 呸 to express 'yuck' can sometimes be interpreted as an act of defiance or a rejection of a lie, rather than just a reaction to something gross.
- The character 呸 is a phono-semantic compound, meaning it uses the mouth radical 口 to indicate the sound is made with the mouth and the character 丕 to provide the phonetic hint.
Examples in context
- 那个食物看起来很恶心。That food looks very disgusting.
- 这种气味真讨厌。This smell is really disgusting.
- 呸，这个水果已经坏掉了。Yuck, this fruit is already rotten.
Example conversation
Zi Han and Hao Ran are looking at some spoiled food in the fridge.
- 梓涵 Zihan你看这个，已经发霉了。Nǐ kàn zhè ge, yǐ jīng fā méi le.Look at this, it's already moldy.
- 浩然 Haoran呸！快把它拿走！Pēi! Kuài bǎ tā ná zǒu!Yuck! Take it away quickly!
- 梓涵 Zihan我知道，我现在就扔了。Wǒ zhī dào, wǒ xiàn zài jiù rēng le.I know, I'll throw it out right now.
- 浩然 Haoran赶紧的，我快吐了。Gǎn jǐn de, wǒ kuài tǔ le.Hurry up, I'm about to throw up.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yuck” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 呸, 惡心, CC BY-SA 4.0.
