'Aiyoh' makes it to the Oxford dictionary!

[MenInG]

 

[Nostalgic]

Many moons ago, when we lived in the Gulf, my mother was trying to get her drivers' license. Per the rules, she had to take a certain number of classes from a driving school. The teacher she was assigned was a South Indian, and every time she would make a mistake, he would hold his head in his hands, and say "Aiyoh! Kalpana!"

There was no internet back in those days, so we had no clue what the phrase meant. It was only years later that we found out that he wasn't cursing, just expressing his "sadness, pain, disgust" as the OED says.

I think "Kalpana" roughly translates to "Imagine!"

Oh and just in case you're wondering, she got the license. Eventually.

 

[MenInG]

Aiyoh just seems such a natural thing to say when expressing surprise!

 

[troodon]

Aiyoh just seems such a natural thing to say when expressing surprise!

Its used like uh-oh!!

But the real meaning is, in Telugu, Ayya is a corrupt word of Arya. It is also used as a word for calling one's father. So when someone says Aiyoh, it means he is recalling ones father or a nobleman as a token of forgiveness for the mistakes that he/she made.

We also say words like o'ammo (oh mother), ori'nayano (ph father)... there are so many such things in Telugu.

I am pretty sure its the same in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages too.

 

[Itachi]

its widely used in north east india too.

 

[kaayal]

In Malayalam, Aiyoh/ayyo has several meanings.

 

[Thomaskutty]

This is surprising.
I have only heard malayalis use it, never heard any other community in the world use this word. How did it enter a dictionary like Oxford?

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Ayuyo.

 

[giri26]

This is surprising.
I have only heard malayalis use it, never heard any other community in the world use this word. How did it enter a dictionary like Oxford?

Aiyoh is very much used in TN. It is a regularly used word. Bollywood caricatures (Even though wrong) of Tamils (Read Mahmood) of often used this word. It became a norm in 70-80's in Hindi movie when a Tamil character for no reason will say Aiyoh for every sentence.

 

[Jin Chacha]

Not sure if I am writing it correctly but I remember Indian wickets keepers (especially Mongia) in the 90's saying something like aaigaah whenever there was a close catch or appeal. Never knew what it meant but wonder if it is related.

 

[Suleiman]

This dictionary has become a joke in the last few words. Used to respect it as a kid growing up when we had to carry dictionaries.

 

[Sidilicious]

Not sure if I am writing it correctly but I remember Indian wickets keepers (especially Mongia) in the 90's saying something like aaigaah whenever there was a close catch or appeal. Never knew what it meant but wonder if it is related.

I think those were Marathi words.

 

[MenInG]

Aiyoh just seems such a natural thing to say when expressing surprise!

My kids maid used to use it so all my children now use it, mostly for fun but a lot of time when expressing genuine surprise

 

[Swashbuckler]

This is surprising.
I have only heard malayalis use it, never heard any other community in the world use this word. How did it enter a dictionary like Oxford?

Very common among Tamils and Tamils are a global community spread across many countries .

 

[Jin Chacha]

I think those were Marathi words.

Right. A quick google search says it is marathi for mother or 'oh mother'.

 

[Manager101]

And I thought it meant " Heyy you !! "

 

[troodon]

Very common among Tamils and Tamils are a global community spread across many countries .

Same with Telugu. Commonly used to express surpirse over some bad news or mistake.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

This dictionary has become a joke in the last few words. Used to respect it as a kid growing up when we had to carry dictionaries.

I don't understand how it works any more. Previously at least new words had become common use in Britain so you could understand why they might include them, even though most of them were slang, but how many people over here say Aiyoh?

 

[Swashbuckler]

One of my friends told me today that 'Aiyyo' is one of the wives of Lord Yama, the Hindu God of Death.

 

[Napa]

its widely used in north east india too.

The equivalent expression in Bengali is more like "O-ma" or "Arre-baba".

For Hindi, "Arre-baba", "Arre-yaar" are quite popular.

 

[Napa]

Many moons ago, when we lived in the Gulf, my mother was trying to get her drivers' license. Per the rules, she had to take a certain number of classes from a driving school. The teacher she was assigned was a South Indian, and every time she would make a mistake, he would hold his head in his hands, and say "Aiyoh! Kalpana!"

There was no internet back in those days, so we had no clue what the phrase meant. It was only years later that we found out that he wasn't cursing, just expressing his "sadness, pain, disgust" as the OED says.

I think "Kalpana" roughly translates to "Imagine!"

Oh and just in case you're wondering, she got the license. Eventually.

Strictly speaking "Kalpana" (which comes from Sanskrit) is a noun and it means "imagination". "Kalpana koro" (Bengali) and "Kalpana karo" are verb phrases which mean "imagine".

 

[CricketCartoons]

Strictly speaking "Kalpana" (which comes from Sanskrit) is a noun and it means "imagination". "Kalpana koro" (Bengali) and "Kalpana karo" are verb phrases which mean "imagine".

It is kolpona in Bangla. Probashi bangalis should know.

 

[Napa]

It is kolpona in Bangla. Probashi bangalis should know.

Kolpona is how it would be pronounced. It can be written as Kalpana as Bengalis pronounce "a" as "o".

Satyajit is pronounced Sotyojit.
Sanjay is pronounced Sonjoy etc.