Skip to content

uha

uhâ with stress marks

an infant's cry

noun u-HA Native origin Rare

Usage Note

Uha is the onomatopoeic term for the cry or wailing of a very young infant. It is used affectionately in Filipino households when describing or mimicking a baby's sounds. The word captures the particular pitch and helplessness of a newborn's cry and is distinct from older children's crying (iyak).

Examples

Beginner

" Narinig ko ang uha ng sanggol. "

Natural Translation

I heard the baby's cry.

Literal Translation

Heard I the cry of-the baby.

Intermediate

" Narinig ko ang uha ng sanggol mula sa kabilang kwarto. "

Natural Translation

I heard the baby's cry from the other room.

Literal Translation

Heard I the cry of-the baby from the other room.

Advanced

" Sa kalagitnaan ng gabi, ginising kami ng uha ng bagong silang na sanggol sa kabilang bahay. "

Natural Translation

In the middle of the night, we were awakened by the cry of the newborn baby in the house next door.

Literal Translation

In middle of night, awakened we by-the cry of newly born baby in next house.

Free · iOS & Android

Take Tagalog with you

The full course, a 12,500-word dictionary, and flashcards that make every word stick — free to start on iOS and Android.

Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.

How Tagalog words work

Explore Tagalog by topic

Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.