wehe

See also: Wehe

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈveːə/

• Audio (Germany):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Variant of weh, which see. The usual distinction between the two forms was first noted by Adelung. While the Deutsches Wörterbuch (1955) considered this distinction “untenable”, it is in fact a linguistic reality, albeit with occasional exceptions.

Interjection

wehe

1. woe; don't you dare (threatening exclamation) [with dative ‘to someone’]

   Wehe euch, ihr Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer! ― Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees! (Matthew 23:23)

   Wehe (dir), wenn du wieder zu spät heimkommst! ― Don't you dare come home late again!

2. (archaic) alternative form of weh (exclamation of pain)

Alternative forms

• weh, weh' (chiefly colloquial or poetic)

Etymology 2

Verb

wehe

1. inflection of wehen:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative
   3. first/third-person singular subjunctive I

Further reading

• “wehe” in Duden online

Hawaiian

Verb

wehe

1. (transitive) to open; undo; take off; pull apart

Derived terms

• hoʻowehe
• wehewehe

Maori

Verb

wehe

1. to separate

Derived terms

• tauwehe
• wehe atu
• weherua