Have you ever been frustrated and wished you knew how to express it in another language — but politely?
Every culture has its own colorful, clever, and often funny ways to release tension without crossing the line into offense.
From mild teasing to playful remarks, these expressions reveal the heart, humor, and creativity of people worldwide.
In this guide, you’ll learn 70 unique expressions from around the world that show how humans handle irritation, anger, or surprise — all without resorting to real curse words.
Let’s explore the lighter, linguistic side of frustration!
🌍 How to Say “Insult” or Express Frustration in 70 Different Languages
Here are polite or culturally common expressions used to show annoyance, disbelief, or mild frustration — without being rude or explicit.
- English (🇺🇸) – Oh, come on! | Pronunciation: oh kuh-mon
Example: Oh, come on! That can’t be true. - Spanish (🇪🇸) – ¡Caramba! | Pronunciation: kah-rahm-bah
Example: ¡Caramba! I forgot my keys again! - French (🇫🇷) – Zut ! | Pronunciation: zoot
Example: Zut ! J’ai raté le bus. (Darn! I missed the bus.) - German (🇩🇪) – Verdammt! | Pronunciation: fer-dahmt
Example: Verdammt! Mein Handy ist kaputt. (Darn! My phone is broken.) - Italian (🇮🇹) – Accidenti! | Pronunciation: ah-chee-den-tee
Example: Accidenti! Ho perso il treno. (Darn! I missed the train.) - Portuguese (🇵🇹) – Puxa! | Pronunciation: poo-sha
Example: Puxa! Que pena! (Wow! What a pity!) - Chinese (Mandarin) (🇨🇳) – 哎呀! (Āi yā!) | Pronunciation: eye-yah
Example: 哎呀! 我忘了! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Japanese (🇯🇵) – しまった! (Shimatta!) | Pronunciation: shee-mah-tah
Example: しまった! 財布を忘れた! (Oh no! I forgot my wallet!) - Korean (🇰🇷) – 아이고! (Aigo!) | Pronunciation: ah-ee-go
Example: 아이고! 너무 비싸요! (Oh dear! It’s too expensive!) - Hindi (🇮🇳) – अरे यार! (Are yaar!) | Pronunciation: uh-ray yaar
Example: अरे यार! फिर से भूल गया! (Oh man! I forgot again!) - Urdu (🇵🇰) – اوہ یار! (Oh yaar!) | Pronunciation: oh yaar
Example: اوہ یار! بہت برا ہوا! (Oh man! That’s bad!) - Arabic (🇸🇦) – يا إلهي! (Ya ilahi!) | Pronunciation: yah ee-lah-hee
Example: يا إلهي! ما هذا؟ (Oh my God! What is this?) - Russian (🇷🇺) – Боже мой! (Bozhe moy!) | Pronunciation: bo-zhe moy
Example: Боже мой! Это невозможно! (My God! That’s impossible!) - Turkish (🇹🇷) – Hay Allah! | Pronunciation: high ah-lah
Example: Hay Allah! Yine unuttum. (Oh dear! I forgot again.) - Greek (🇬🇷) – Θεέ μου! (Theé mou!) | Pronunciation: the-eh moo
Example: Θεέ μου! Τι έγινε; (My God! What happened?) - Dutch (🇳🇱) – Verdorie! | Pronunciation: ver-do-ree
Example: Verdorie! Te laat weer. (Darn! Late again.) - Swedish (🇸🇪) – Attans! | Pronunciation: ah-tans
Example: Attans! Glömde mobilen. (Darn! Forgot my phone.) - Finnish (🇫🇮) – Voi ei! | Pronunciation: voy ay
Example: Voi ei! Auto ei toimi. (Oh no! The car doesn’t work.) - Polish (🇵🇱) – Kurczę! | Pronunciation: koor-cheh
Example: Kurczę! Znowu pada! (Darn! It’s raining again.) - Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Aduh! | Pronunciation: ah-dooh
Example: Aduh! Lupa lagi! (Oh no! Forgot again!) - Malay (🇲🇾) – Alamak! | Pronunciation: ah-lah-mahk
Example: Alamak! Terlambat! (Oh no! I’m late!) - Thai (🇹🇭) – โอ้ย! (Oi!) | Pronunciation: oy
Example: โอ้ย! ลืมไปเลย! (Oh no! I totally forgot!) - Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Trời ơi! | Pronunciation: choy oy
Example: Trời ơi! Sao lại thế! (Oh my! Why like that!) - Filipino (🇵🇭) – Naku! | Pronunciation: nah-koo
Example: Naku! Ang init! (Oh no! It’s hot!) - Swahili (🇰🇪) – Ole wangu! | Pronunciation: oh-lay wan-goo
Example: Ole wangu! Nimesahau! (Oh dear! I forgot!) - Zulu (🇿🇦) – Hawu! | Pronunciation: hah-woo
Example: Hawu! Kwenzekani? (Oh! What happened?) - Hebrew (🇮🇱) – אוי! (Oy!) | Pronunciation: oy
Example: אוי! שכחתי! (Oy! I forgot!) - Bengali (🇧🇩) – আরে! (Are!) | Pronunciation: ah-rey
Example: আরে! কী হলো! (Oh! What happened!) - Persian (🇮🇷) – وای! (Vay!) | Pronunciation: vye
Example: وای! یادم رفت! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Nepali (🇳🇵) – अरे बाप रे! (Are bap re!) | Pronunciation: ah-ray bap-ray
Example: अरे बाप रे! कस्तो भयो! (Oh dear! What happened!) - Sinhala (🇱🇰) – අයියෝ! (Aiyyo!) | Pronunciation: eye-yo
Example: අයියෝ! මට අමතක වුණා! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Burmese (🇲🇲) – အိုး! (Oh!) | Pronunciation: oh
Example: အိုး! မေ့သွားတယ်! (Oh! I forgot!) - Khmer (🇰🇭) – អុយ! (Ouy!) | Pronunciation: oo-ee
Example: អុយ! ខ្ញុំភ្លេចហើយ! (Oh! I forgot!) - Lao (🇱🇦) – ອື້! (ʔʉ̀ʉ!) | Pronunciation: eu!
Example: ອື້! ລືມແລ້ວ! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Хөөе! (Khoo-ye!) | Pronunciation: khoo-yeh
Example: Хөөе! Юу болж байна вэ? (Hey! What’s going on?) - Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Ойбай! (Oy-bay!) | Pronunciation: oy-bye
Example: Ойбай! Унуттым! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Voy! | Pronunciation: voy
Example: Voy! Nima bo‘ldi? (Oh no! What happened?) - Tajik (🇹🇯) – Эҳ! (Eh!) | Pronunciation: eh!
Example: Эҳ! Фаромӯш кардам! (Oh! I forgot!) - Georgian (🇬🇪) – ოჰო! (Oho!) | Pronunciation: oh-ho
Example: ოჰო! რა მოხდა! (Oh! What happened!) - Armenian (🇦🇲) – Ախպեր! (Akhper!) | Pronunciation: akh-pair
Example: Ախպեր! Ի՞նչ արեցի! (Bro! What did I do!) - Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Ой! (Oy!) | Pronunciation: oy
Example: Ой! Забув! (Oh! I forgot!) - Czech (🇨🇿) – Sakra! | Pronunciation: sah-krah
Example: Sakra! Zapomněl jsem. (Darn! I forgot.) - Hungarian (🇭🇺) – A fenébe! | Pronunciation: ah feh-nay-beh
Example: A fenébe! Elfelejtettem! (Darn! I forgot!) - Romanian (🇷🇴) – Of, Doamne! | Pronunciation: off dwahm-neh
Example: Of, Doamne! Am uitat! (Oh, God! I forgot!) - Serbian (🇷🇸) – Joj! | Pronunciation: yoy
Example: Joj! Kasnim! (Oh no! I’m late!) - Croatian (🇭🇷) – Ajme! | Pronunciation: eye-meh
Example: Ajme! Kasnim! (Oh no! I’m late!) - Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Jao! | Pronunciation: yah-oh
Example: Jao! Zaboravio sam! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Albanian (🇦🇱) – Eh Zot! | Pronunciation: eh zoh-t
Example: Eh Zot! Çfarë bëra! (Oh God! What did I do!) - Irish (🇮🇪) – Ó mo Dhia! | Pronunciation: oh muh yee-ah
Example: Ó mo Dhia! Cad a rinne mé! (Oh my God! What did I do!) - Welsh (🇬🇧) – O na! | Pronunciation: oh nah
Example: O na! Anghofiais! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Ó nei! | Pronunciation: oh nay
Example: Ó nei! Ég gleymdi! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Hawaiian (🇺🇸) – Auwe! | Pronunciation: ah-oo-way
Example: Auwe! Ua nalowale iaʻu! (Oh no! I lost it!) - Maori (🇳🇿) – Aue! | Pronunciation: ah-way
Example: Aue! Kua wareware au! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Samoan (🇼🇸) – Ui! | Pronunciation: oo-ee
Example: Ui! Ua galo ia te aʻu! (Oh no! I forgot!) - Basque (🇪🇸) – Ai ene! | Pronunciation: eye eh-neh
Example: Ai ene! Zer gertatu da! (Oh my! What happened!) - Catalan (🇪🇸) – Ostres! | Pronunciation: oh-stres
Example: Ostres! He oblidat! (Wow! I forgot!) - Esperanto (🌐) – Ho ve! | Pronunciation: ho veh
Example: Ho ve! Mi forgesis! (Oh no! I forgot!)
🌎 Conclusion
Language is not only about words — it’s emotion, culture, and humanity. Every region has its own unique and expressive ways to release frustration or surprise without offending anyone. These mild exclamations remind us that even when we’re annoyed, humor and creativity unite us across the world. 🌍✨
