phew

English

Alternative forms

whew, pew

Etymology

Attested since the early 17th century. An onomatopoeia for rapid exhalation, as one may make when a trying situation is over, or in order to get rid of an unpleasant odour. Compare Scots feuch, Spanish fu, Czech fuj, and many more such forms.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fjuː/, [ɸju̥˥˩]
Rhymes: -uː
Audio (UK) (file)
Homophone: few

Interjection

phew

Used to express relief of tension, fatigue, or surprise.
Phew, that took a long time to cook!
Used to show disgust.
Phew, it stinks in here!

Synonyms

(expressing relief of tension): whew
(expressing disgust): See Thesaurus:yuck

Translations

Used to show relief, fatigue, or surprise

Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Catalan: uf (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 喲／哟 (zh) (yo)
Czech: uf
Dutch: oef (nl), hehe,
Finnish: huh (fi), huhhuh, huh huh
French: pfou, ouf (fr) (relief)
German: puh (de)
Greek: ουφ (el) (ouf), φου (fou)
Ancient: φεῦ (pheû)
Hebrew: פיו‎ (fyu)
Hungarian: püh
Italian: uff, uffa (it) (heat, tiredness), uh (relief, surprise)
Japanese: ふぅ (fū)
Korean: 후유 (huyu), 휴 (ko) (hyu), 어휴 (eohyu), 에휴 (ehyu)
Latin: ufa
Navajo: hwááh
Polish: uff (pl)
Portuguese: ufa (pt)
Russian: уф! (uf!), фуф (fuf), фух (ru) (fux)
Spanish: ¡fíu!, ¡menos mal! (es)
Swedish: puh (sv), fy (sv)
Vietnamese: phù (vi)

Used to show disgust

Catalan: please add this translation if you can
Czech: fuj (cs)
Finnish: hyh (fi), hyi (fi), yh (fi), yäk (fi)
French: pouah (fr)
German: pfui (de)
Hebrew: איכס‎ (he) (ikhs), פיכס‎ (fikhs), פויה‎ (he) (fúya)
Hungarian: pfuj
Lushootseed: sʔm
Spanish: puaj (es)