Interjections

Interjection	Primary / Secondary	Typical Usage / Pragmatic Function	Example Sentence
ah	Primary	Realisation, recognition, mild understanding	Ah, now I see what you mean.
oh	Primary	Reaction marker: surprise, correction, realisation	Oh, I didn’t know that.
ooh	Primary	Pleasant surprise, admiration	Ooh, that’s lovely.
oof	Primary	Reaction to impact or discomfort	Oof, that hurt.
ow	Primary	Sharp physical pain	Ow! That’s hot.
ouch	Primary	Pain (more expressive than “ow”)	Ouch, that really stings.
ugh / urgh	Primary	Disgust, revulsion	Ugh, that’s awful.
ew	Primary	Disgust (common among younger speakers)	Ew, that’s gross.
er	Primary	Hesitation marker (very common in BrE)	Er, I’m not sure.
erm	Primary	Extended hesitation marker (BrE)	Erm, could you repeat that?
hmm	Primary	Thoughtfulness, doubt	Hmm, I’m not convinced.
mm	Primary	Agreement, acknowledgement	Mm, that makes sense.
wow	Primary	Strong admiration or surprise	Wow, that’s incredible!
blimey	Primary	Surprise, astonishment (informal)	Blimey, that was quick!
crikey	Primary	Surprise (informal, mildly dated)	Crikey, that’s expensive!
gosh	Primary (historically secondary)	Mild surprise (euphemistic)	Gosh, I didn’t expect that.
gee	Primary (in modern usage)	Mild surprise	Gee, that’s impressive.
phew	Primary	Relief after effort or stress	Phew, we made it.
yikes	Primary	Alarm, mild shock	Yikes, that’s a big spider.
whoops	Primary	Minor mistake or accid