<p>There isn't one.</p>

<p>At least not specifically for expressing sympathy. There are other exclamations that can be used to express sympathy, like 哎呦, 天哪, but none are specific to sympathy, and can be used in other situations.</p>

<p>This feels like a cop-out but it's true; Chinese doesn't have exact equivalents for all English exclamations, but the converse also applies. To give you two examples, there isn't a Chinese word to express disapproval, like "boo"; you might say something specific like 下台, which means "get off the stage". There isn't an English equivalent to 加油; instead you might say "go team", or "USA", depending on what you're cheering.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T03:48:17.763Z
2018-05-15T03:48:17.763Z
congusbongus
<p>Usually 哎, 咳, 唉, those means "sigh", can not find more appropriate words.
or 哎呀, but it sounds affected when you read it, more natural in speaking. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-12T14:03:09.403Z
2018-05-12T14:03:09.403Z
sfy
<p>Use emoticons or stickers, when text fails you. </p>

<p>For me, I’d do something like this before I throw out advice relevant to the situation (in this case, warm up with a hot drink): 啊？！還好嗎？ </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-15T03:12:32.677Z
2018-05-15T03:12:32.677Z
judester
<p>Just now, I was talking to someone on WeChat and he mentioned how he got caught out in the rain.  I wanted to say "awww" out of sympathy as we do in English, but I don't know how to.  The closest I know is <a href="http://dict.cn/%E5%95%8A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">啊</a> (a) = "ah" or <a href="http://dict.cn/%E5%99%A2http://dict.cn/%E5%99%A2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">噢</a> (ō) = "oh", "oops" which don't really suit the situation.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Is there an equivalent to "awww" in English for expressing sympathy?</p>

<p>Searching for <a href="http://youdao.com/w/awww" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>awww</code></a> in YouDao suggests 噢, such as 噢谢谢你, but I don't think this is the same as sympathy (although maybe I'm wrong).  Other searches (<a href="http://dict.cn/aww" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>aww</code></a> (dict.cn) <a href="http://youdao.com/w/aww" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>aww</code></a> (YouDao)) don't really help.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-12T14:56:28.167Z
Something like 哎呦呦呦，可憐的孩子 would probably capture the meaning
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-12T14:58:38.707Z
see previous Q&A How do Chinese speakers convey emotions by speech?  https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23215/how-do-chinese-speakers-convey-emotions-by-speech
esp. comments 6-8 (3-5 from bottom) excerpts from 实用现代汉语语法: 叹词列举
user6065
<translation><word-choice>
Is there an equivalent to "awww" in English for expressing sympathy?
# Is there an equivalent to "awww" in English for expressing sympathy?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-05-12)

Just now, I was talking to someone on WeChat and he mentioned how he got caught out in the rain. I wanted to say "awww" out of sympathy as we do in English, but I don't know how to. The closest I know is [啊](http://dict.cn/%E5%95%8A) (a) = "ah" or [噢](http://dict.cn/%E5%99%A2http://dict.cn/%E5%99%A2) (ō) = "oh", "oops" which don't really suit the situation.

**Question**: Is there an equivalent to "awww" in English for expressing sympathy?

Searching for [`awww`](http://youdao.com/w/awww) in YouDao suggests 噢, such as 噢谢谢你, but I don't think this is the same as sympathy (although maybe I'm wrong). Other searches ([`aww`](http://dict.cn/aww) (dict.cn) [`aww`](http://youdao.com/w/aww) (YouDao)) don't really help.

**Tags:** translation, word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Something like 哎呦呦呦，可憐的孩子 would probably capture the meaning  
> **username_2**: see previous Q&A How do Chinese speakers convey emotions by speech?  https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23215/how-do-chinese-speakers-convey-emotions-by-speech esp. comments 6-8 (3-5 from bottom) excerpts from 实用现代汉语语法: 叹词列举  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-05-15. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

There isn't one.

At least not specifically for expressing sympathy. There are other exclamations that can be used to express sympathy, like 哎呦, 天哪, but none are specific to sympathy, and can be used in other situations.

This feels like a cop-out but it's true; Chinese doesn't have exact equivalents for all English exclamations, but the converse also applies. To give you two examples, there isn't a Chinese word to express disapproval, like "boo"; you might say something specific like 下台, which means "get off the stage". There isn't an English equivalent to 加油; instead you might say "go team", or "USA", depending on what you're cheering.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2018-05-12. Score: 3

Usually 哎, 咳, 唉, those means "sigh", can not find more appropriate words.
or 哎呀, but it sounds affected when you read it, more natural in speaking.


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### Answer by username_5 on 2018-05-15. Score: 2

Use emoticons or stickers, when text fails you.

For me, I’d do something like this before I throw out advice relevant to the situation (in this case, warm up with a hot drink): 啊？！還好嗎？


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