oy vey

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from Yiddish אוי וויי (oy vey, literally “oh woe”), from Middle High German ōwē, from ō + wē, the latter being from Old High German wē, from Proto-Germanic *wai, from Proto-Indo-European *wai. Cognate with German o weh, Dutch oh wee, Latin vae, and Esperanto ho ve. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɔɪ̯ veɪ̯/ Rhymes: -eɪ === Interjection === oy vey (slang, ascribed to Jewish people, potentially offensive) oh dear ==== Usage notes ==== Sometimes used by anti-Semites to ridicule stereotypical (Ashkenazi) Jews; may as such be perceived as offensive when used by non-Jews. ==== Related terms ==== oy ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== oy vavoy (Hebrew equivalent) === Verb === oy vey (third-person singular simple present oy veys, present participle oy veying, simple past and past participle oy veyed) (intransitive) To utter the phrase oy vey. ==== Alternative forms ==== oy-vey