View source for Oy vey

{{Short description|Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Distinguish|Oi (interjection)}}
[[Image:Oy Vey vc (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Sign on the [[Williamsburg Bridge]] leaving [[Brooklyn]]]]

'''''Oy vey''''' ({{langx|yi|אױ װײ}}) is a [[Yiddish]] phrase expressing dismay or exasperation. Also spelled '''''oy vay''''', '''''oy veh''''', or '''''oi vey''''', and often abbreviated to '''''oy''''', the expression may be translated as "oh, woe!" or "woe is me!" Its [[Hebrew]] equivalent is '''''oy vavoy''''' ({{Lang|he|אוי ואבוי}}, {{Transliteration|he|óy va'avóy}}).<ref name=Chabad.org/><ref>See Proverbs 23:29, where King Solomon asks, "To whom is ''oy'' and to whom is ''avoy''?"</ref> Sometimes the phrase is elongated to '''''oi yoi yoi''''' (with the '''''yoi''''' being repeated as many times as desired).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goren |first=Biranit |date=2013-05-29 |title=An Ode to 'Oy' |url=https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/an-ode-to-oy/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Atlanta Jewish Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Derivation==
According to [[etymologist]] Douglas Harper, the phrase is derived from [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] and is of [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] origin.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oy | access-date=10 Oct 2011 | title=Oy | publisher=Douglas Harper Online Etymology Dictionary | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925213122/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oy | archive-date=2011-09-25 }}</ref> It is [[cognate]] with the [[German language|German]] expression ''o weh'', or ''auweh'', combining the German and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] exclamation ''au!'' meaning "ouch/oh" and the German word ''Weh'', a cognate of the [[English language|English]] word ''woe'' (as well as the Dutch ''wee'' meaning pain). The expression is also related to ''oh ve'', an older expression in [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], and ''oy wah'', an expression used with a similar meaning in the [[Montbéliard]] region in [[France]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2012}} The Latin equivalent is ''heu, vae!''; a more standard expression would be ''o, me miserum,'' or ''heu, me miserum.''{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

According to [[Chabad.org]],{{Unreliable source?|reason=chabad.org site staff are not a reliable source in the field of linguistics ([[Talk:Oy vey#Chabad as a source in the field of linguistics|talk page]]) |date=January 2022}} an alternative theory for the origin of the Yiddish expression is that "oy" stems from Biblical Hebrew, and that "vey" is its [[Aramaic]] equivalent.<ref name=Chabad.org>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/699508/jewish/What-Does-Oy-Vey-Mean.htm |title=What Does Oy Vey Mean? |website=Chabad.org |access-date=2013-04-19}}</ref> It is alternatively spelled אוי, הוי, or הו in Biblical Hebrew <ref name= 
Brown-Driver-Briggs>{{cite web |url=http://www.ericlevy.com/revel/bdb/bdb/5/he-Index.html |title=Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon |access-date=2020-12-08}}</ref> and ווי, וי, ואי, and ויא in Aramaic.<ref name=Jastrow>{{cite web |url=http://www.tyndalearchive.com/TABS/Jastrow/index.htm |title=A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature |access-date=2020-12-08}}</ref> The term is occasionally doubled, as הו הו in [[Amos 5|Amos 5:16]] and וי וי in [[Targum Pseudo-Jonathan]] on that verse, but two versions were never combined classically.

==Significance==
The expression is often abbreviated to simply ''oy'', or elongated to ''oy vey iz mir'' ("Oh, woe is me").<ref name=Stevens>Stevens, Payson et al.  ''Meshuggenary: Celebrating the World of Yiddish'', p. 34 (Simon and Schuster 2002).</ref> The fuller lament is sometimes found as the more Germanic ''oy vey ist mir''.<ref>Rozakis, Laurie.  ''The Portable Jewish Mother'', p. 274 (Adams Media 2007).</ref><ref>Kaplan, Alice.  ''French Lessons: A Memoir'', p. 5 (University of Chicago Press 1994).</ref> The main purpose or effect of elongating it is often dramatic, something like a "cosmic ouch".<ref name= Stevens /><ref>Jacobs, Meredith.  ''The Modern Jewish Mom's Guide to Shabbat'', p. 229 (HarperCollins 2007).</ref> An ''Oy'' is not merely an ordinary word, but rather expresses an entire world view, according to [[visual anthropologist]] [[Penny Wolin]].<ref>Wolin, Penny.  ''The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora'', p. 196 (Crazy Woman Creek Press 2000).</ref> Its meaning is approximately opposite that of [[mazel tov]].<ref name=Stevens />
A related expression is ''oy gevalt'', which can have a similar meaning, or also express shock or amazement.

== Antisemitic usage ==
"''Oy vey''" has been used as an [[antisemitic]] [[Dog whistle (politics)|dog whistle]] to imply that the person referred to is [[Jews|Jewish]] or of Jewish origin, commonly posted under videos or other media. It is similar to, and often used in the same context as, the [[triple parentheses]] also known as "an echo".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Justin |title=Day of the trope: White nationalist memes thrive on Reddit's r/The_Donald |pages=1 |work=Southern Poverty Law Center|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/04/19/day-trope-white-nationalist-memes-thrive-reddits-rthedonald }}</ref> In March 2019 the phrase "Oy vey! This is [[Make America Great Again|MAGA]] country" was one of many used to vandalize [[Jewish cemetery|Jewish headstones]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Anti-Semitism Hit 'Near-Historic Levels' In 2018, Report Finds |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/anti-semitism-2018-united-states_n_5cc8aef7e4b0e4d7572b2edf }}</ref> The phrase was also used with the antisemitic [[catchphrase]] "[[The Goyim Know]]" seen with "Oy vey, the [[Goy]]im Know".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goyim Know/Shut It Down |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/goyim-knowshut-it-down |website=ADL}}</ref> "Oy vey, it's anuddah [[The Holocaust|shoah!]]" a mocking way of saying "Oh woe, it's [[Second Holocaust|another holocaust]]" used to belittle those who are [[Anti-antisemitism|against antisemitism]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Three Great Ways to Troll the Internet's Nazis - Tablet Magazine |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/beyond-three-more-ways-to-troll-the-internets-nazis }}</ref>

== Similar phrases ==
There exist similar phrases in other languages, such as {{langx|de|Ach und Weh}}, {{langx|nl|ach en wee}}, {{langx|sv|ack och ve}}, [[Polish language|Polish:]] ''Ojojoj'' etc. Also compare {{langx|yi|אוי געוואַלד}} (''oy gevald''), meaning “oh woe”.

==See also==
*[[List of English words of Yiddish origin]]
*[[Antisemitism]]
*[[Istighfar]]
*[[Oi (interjection)]], a similar-sounding English exclamation, said to also have older European origins
*''[[Oi Yoi Yoi]],'' 1963 painting by painter [[Roger Hilton]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Wiktionary-inline|oy vey}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oy Vey}}
[[Category:Yiddish words and phrases]]
[[Category:Internet memes]]