och
English
Alternative forms
- ach
- ock
Etymology
Compare Early Modern English och, Scottish Gaelic och, Irish och. Compare also Scots ach, Scots ouch.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɒx/
- Rhymes: -ɒx
Interjection
och
- (chiefly Scotland, Ireland) general interjection of confirmation, affirmation, and often disapproval.
- (chiefly Scotland, Ireland) an expression of anger, frustration, surprise
- 2014 September 14, “Scottish Independence”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 17, HBO:
- “Och, ooh, it’s so confusing, it hurts my wee head! I’m just a woman, you know, just a pair of ovaries and some bangs! How do I have the mental capacity to pick from one of two options? Put me down for a no, and never trust me with an important decision again!”
-
Derived terms
- och aye
Anagrams
- CHO, COH, Cho, HCO, OHC
Dutch
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔx/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔx
Interjection
och
- alas
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔx/
Interjection
och
- expressing endearment, pity, consideration, etc.
- Och, wie süß! ― Oh, how sweet!
- Och, Schatz! Das wird schon wieder! ― Oh, darling! It'll all be fine!
- Och, das ist eigentlich keine schlechte Idee! ― Hm, that's actually not a bad idea!
Usage notes
- For the most part interchangeable with ach, but the two are preferred in different respective contexts.
Luxembourgish
Etymology
From a Middle High German contraction och or possibly *uch, from ouch, from Old High German ouh, from Proto-Germanic *auk. Cognate with German auch (“also”), Dutch ook (“also”), West Frisian ek (“also, too”), Icelandic og (“and”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /oχ/
- Rhymes: -oχ
Adverb
och
- also
- even
Synonyms
- (even): esouguer
Polish
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oxъ, possibly from Proto-Slavic *o, ultimately of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Latin oh, German oh.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔx/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔx
- Syllabification: och
Interjection
och
- oh! (expresses surprise or realization)
- Synonyms: ach, ojej, ależ
Derived terms
- ach i och
- achy i ochy
Further reading
- och in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- och in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romansch
Alternative forms
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) otg
- (Vallader) ot
Etymology
From Latin octō.
Number
och
- (Puter) eight
Scottish Gaelic
Interjection
och
- alas
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish ock, ok, from Old Norse ok, unstressed variant of Proto-Germanic *auk (“also”). Cognate with Norwegian and Danish og, Dutch ook, German auch, and English eke. The unusual -ch-spelling might have been to avoid mixups with ock.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔ/, (when emphasised) /ɔkː/
audio (file) - Homophone: ock
Conjunction
och
- and; used to connect two homogeneous (similar) words or phrases
- Jag gillar hundar och katter. ― I like dogs and cats.
- and; used to denote the last item of a list
- äpplen, apelsiner och päron ― apples, oranges and pears
- (mathematics) and, plus
- Två och tre är fem. ― Two and three is five.
- used to connect two finite verbs to denote that the two actions are performed at the same time, often used similarly to the gerund in other languages
- Jag sitter och läser. ― I'm sitting and reading.
- to; in order to; used to connect two finite verbs to denote that the first is done in order to be able to do the second
- Ska vi gå och bada? ― Should we go swimming?
- (poetic) introduces a main clause which somehow is bound to a previous clause
- Och det vart afton, och det vart morgon, den andra dagen.
- And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
Related terms
- ock
Interjection
och
- (colloquial) and, so, so what
- "Du parkerar din bil framför mitt hus varje morgon." — "Och?"
- "You park your car in front of my house every morning." — "So?"