oeh
ooh (expresses surprise, excitement, or mild hesitation)
/u/interjection
Word forms
- invariable: oeh (does not inflect)
- diminutive (as noun): oehje (little 'ooh' sound)
How it is spelled and how it sounds
The digraph 'oe' represents the close back rounded vowel /u/ (like 'oo' in English 'boot'), while the final 'h' is silent and merely indicates a lengthened or breathy exclamation.
koecowpoehphew / poohboehboo
In connected speech
In expressive speech, the vowel is often significantly lengthened to [uː] and may end with a slight breathy release [h] or glottal stop [ʔ] depending on the speaker's emotion.