おう

See also: おお

Japanese

Etymology 1

Interjection

おう (rōmaji ō)

  1. An informal greeting similar to hey. See also よう.
    おう、久 (ひさ)しぶりだね。
    Ō, hisashiburi da ne.
    Hey, it's been a long time, hasn't it?
  2. An informal interjection similar to oh or oops.
    おう、しまった！
    Ō, shimatta!
    Oh, no!
  3. An informal affirmative response.
    Ａ：わかった？Ｂ：おう。
    A: Wakatta? B: Ō.
    A: "You see?" B: "Got it."
    お、おう…
    O, ō…
    Uh, sure...

Etymology 2
For pronunciation and definitions of おう – see the following entries.
【王】1
[noun]a king
[noun]an East Asian ruling prince
[affix]king
【黄】2
[affix]yellow
【央】3
[affix]centre, middle
【横】3
[affix]sideways, horizontal
[affix]self-willed; arbitrary; unrestrained and aggressive
[affix]sudden; unexpected
[affix]brimming
【応】5
[affix]respond; reply; answer
[affix]in accordance
【往】5
[affix]to go to; to head for
[affix]past; previous
【桜】5
[affix]cherry tree; cherry blossom
【皇】6
[affix]emperor; ruler
[affix]tenno (Japanese emperor)
【凹】S
[affix]concave
【押】S
【旺】S
【欧】S
[affix]Short for 欧羅巴 (Yōroppa, “Europe”).
[proper noun]Short for 欧羅巴 (Yōroppa, “Europe”).
【殴】S
【翁】S
[affix]old man
[noun]old man; venerable gentleman
[suffix](honorific) venerable; old; father
[pronoun](humble, used by elderly men) I; me
【奥】S
【鷗】J
【媼】H
【嘔】H
【墺】H
【懊】H
【謳】H
【鶯】H
(This term, おう, is the hiragana spelling of several Sino-Japanese terms.)
For a list of all kanji with on'yomi おう, not just those used in Sino-Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji with on reading おう.

Etymology 3

Verb

おう (godan conjugation, rōmaji ou)

  1. 追う: to chase
  2. 負う: to incur or bear
  3. 生う: to grow or spring up
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