Pronunciations

Definitions

• interj. Exclamation of dismay, exasperation, or surprise.
  

Example Sentences

Languages of Origin

• Yiddish

Etymology

• אױ װײ oy vey 'oh woe'
  

Who Uses This

• Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
• Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

Regions

• North America
• Great Britain
• South Africa
• Australia / New Zealand
• View More

Dictionaries

• Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
• The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
• Yinglish: A Lexicon of Judeo-English by Aliza Bulow

Alternative Spellings

oi vey, oi vei, oi vay