おいおい

お

い

お

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

hey!; wait a minute!; whoa!

Used to call out to someone, express surprise, or ask someone to stop or wait. Often repeated for emphasis.

See also: おい

おいおい、ちょっと待まってくれよ。
Hey, wait a minute.
おいおい、そんなこと言いうなよ。
Whoa, don't say that.

2

adverb, adverb taking the 'to' particle

boohoo; waaaa

onomatopoeic or mimetic word

Mimetic word for crying or wailing, often used with と or as an adverb describing the sound of sobbing.

赤あかちゃんがおいおいと泣ないている。
The baby is crying boohoo.

Usage patterns

おいおいと泣なくto cry loudly, boohooing
彼かれは子こ供どものようにおいおいと泣ないた。
He cried loudly like a child, boohooing.

Related words

おい sense 1
おい is a single, sharp call for attention, while おいおい is softer and doubled, often adding a note of surprise or a request to wait.
えんえん sense 2
おいおい often describes a grown person's loud sobbing, while えんえん describes prolonged, wailing crying more typical of children.
しくしくN1sense 2
おいおい depicts loud, open sobbing, whereas しくしく depicts quiet, sniffling crying.
さめざめN1
おいおい describes loud, audible wailing, whereas さめざめ describes quiet, restrained crying with streaming tears.

Opposites

しくしくN1
しくしく is quiet, restrained crying, whereas おいおい describes loud, uncontrolled wailing.

Written forms

おいおいUsage47%
Standard hiragana spelling for both the interjection and the mimetic adverb.
オイオイUsage53%
Katakana spelling, often used for emphasis or in casual writing.

Etymology

The interjection is a reduplication of おい, a call to get someone's attention. The mimetic sense is sound-symbolic, imitating the sound of crying.