Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

woe is me

/ˌwoʊ ɪz ˈmi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.31 in modern English

Syllables
woe is me
IPA
/ˌwoʊ ɪz ˈmi/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

intj

Used to show that the speaker feels distress or misery; humorous use usually also signals self-awareness regarding excessive self-pity.

Humorous

Example Sentences

Etymology

The pronoun me in this expression is not semantically vacuous beyond its reference to the first person singular (and thus simply equated with the subject by copular be, as in this is me), but a relational dative (literally woe is to me, i.e. woe is upon me; compare German weh mir). Cognate with Yiddish וויי איז מיר (vey iz mir).

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌwoʊ ɪz ˈmi/
  • British English: /ˌwəʊ ɪz ˈmiː/

Usage

Inflected Forms

woe is I (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

sad weep dammit!

Synonyms

ah me alack alackaday alas hey ho oh dear oh well pity shame too bad what a pity what a shame

Antonyms

yay

Questions

How do you pronounce woe is me?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌwoʊ ɪz ˈmi/.
What does woe is me mean?
Used to show that the speaker feels distress or misery; humorous use usually also signals self-awareness regarding excessive self-pity.
Where does woe is me come from?
The pronoun me in this expression is not semantically vacuous beyond its reference to the first person singular (and thus simply equated with the subject by copular be, as in this is me), but a relational dative (literally woe is to me, i.e. woe is upon me; compare German weh mir). Cognate with Yiddish וויי איז מיר (vey iz mir).

How to pronounce woe is me

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “woe is me”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌwoʊ ɪz ˈmi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “woe is me”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “woe is me” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.