Word Confusion: Oh là là versus Ooh la la

Posted April 7, 2016 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
23 Sept 2022

I’m finally putting together the Word Confusions book, and as I sorted the past Confusions into chapters, I realized I needed that chapter for diacritics. But, I had very few, and it seemed such a cheat to only have a few words in an entire chapter. Then I ran across oh là là. And . . . oh là là, là làaaa, have I ever learned about this exclamation!

For one thing, it is never pronounced ooh là là. Keep that oh short and sweet. As for the là, you can repeat the là làs — and always in pairs! Think of it as emphasis. Think of it as a gorgeous guy (you lads can think of a bodalicious babe *grin*) who really catches your attention . . . and, oh là là, là làaaa!

One last point. Since oh là là is not in an English dictionary, it should be italicized. (For more on when to italicize foreign words, see the post, “Formatting Tips: Italics“.)

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.

Oh là là	Ooh là là
Jaguar XK is AlfvanBeem’s own work under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Oh là là, that Jaguar . . .!
Part of Grammar:
Exclamation Variant spelling, Ouh là là	No.
Indicates surprise, disappointment, commiseration, distress, annoyance, indignation, sarcasm Any moderately strong reaction to something that was just said or done [Literally] Oh, there, there [Everyday] Oh, dear [Everyday] Oh, my [Everyday] Oh, no Yikes Jeez Ooh Wow	Often used in English to talk about something risqué and is mispronounced.
Examples:
Oh là là, oh là là là là là là, who’s the hunk? Oh là là, I can’t find my keys. Oh là là, you’re scaring me. Oh là là! What a catastrophe! Oh là làaaaa! That is magnificent!
History of the Word:
French

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Oh là là versus Ooh la la

Apple Dictionary.com

“Ho là là ! / O la la ! / Oh ! là là ! / Ouh ! là là ! – orthographe.” WordReference.com. 27 Sept 2006. Web. n.d. <http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ho-là-là-o-la-la-oh-là-là-ouh-là-là-orthographe.246840/?hl=fr>.

ThoughtCo Team. “Using the French Expression ‘Oh là là’.” ThoughtCo.com. Updated 16 July 2019. Web. n.d. <http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/ohlala.htm>.

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