How Do You Spell ...

Updated on August 27, 2013
J.☯. asks from Sherman, IL
8 answers

How do you spell the phrase you might use to show frustration? This is what I found when I googled it.

ay yi yi
aye yai yai
aye yi yi
ayiyi
ay ay ay
aye aye aye
i-i-i

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So What Happened?

Oh, I like "oy vey!" I might just go with that.

Featured Answers

D.B.

answers from Boston on

I'd go with "ay ay ay" because of the repetition. But I think "ay-yi-yi" is the way most Americans say it, emphasizing the "y" as a consonant - I'm guessing it entered the lexicon after Ricky Ricardo kept saying it to Lucy!

"Aye aye aye" would mean "yes yes yes" as in "Aye aye, Sir."

And yeah, "oy vey" is just as useful. Lots of Yiddish expressions and words are better than most anything else: shlep, chutzpah, schmuck, etc. Sometimes it's better if you don't really know the real meaning in Yiddish, by the way! You wouldn't use some of them otherwise.

3 moms found this helpful

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D.P.

answers from Detroit on

F*ck! I don't know!

9 moms found this helpful
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R.M.

answers from San Francisco on

I think it's ay ay ay, because the origin is Spanish, and "ay" is a Spanish word.

5 moms found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Chattanooga on

Ai-yi-yi is how I spell that...

I also use URGH!! (Or argh, if I'm angry-frustrated.)

Oy vey is another favorite, for amused exasperation. Lol.

3 moms found this helpful
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B..

answers from Dallas on

I wanted to answer your title, poorly.

Updated

I wanted to answer your title, poorly.

2 moms found this helpful
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L.P.

answers from Boca Raton on

mine is ugh. or f... a duck :)

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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

I go with, "Aiy yai yai".

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M.O.

answers from New York on

Oy yoy yoy.

It's pronounced the way you have it above, but this is the traditional transliteration from the Yiddish.

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