sigh

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: sī, IPA^(key): /saɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophones: sie, sai, psi, xi, scye, Si, Sy, Cy

Etymology 1

From Middle English sighen (“to sigh”), back-formation from sighte, past tense form of siken, from Old English sīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *sīkan, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seykʷ- (“to pour out”).

Verb

sigh (third-person singular simple present sighs, present participle sighing, simple past and past participle sighed)

1. (intransitive) To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it; to make a deep single audible respiration, especially as the result or involuntary expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like.

   Synonym: (obsolete) sithe

   When she saw it wasn't damaged, she sighed with relief.

   He sighed. It was going to be a long night.

   He sighed over the lost opportunity.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed.
        ‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’

2. (intransitive) To lament; to grieve.

   Synonyms: (obsolete) sithe, yearn; see also Thesaurus:be sad

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 8:12:

     He sighed deeply in his spirit.

3. (transitive) To utter sighs over; to lament or mourn over.

   Synonyms: grieve, lament, (obsolete) sithe; see also Thesaurus:lament

   • 1695, Matthew Prior, An ode presented to the king, on His Majesty's arrival in Holland, after the Queen's death:

     Ages to come, and men unborn, / Shall bless her name, and sigh her fate.

   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

     The lassie had grace given her to refuse, but with a woeful heart, and Heriotside rode off in black discontent, leaving poor Ailie to sigh her love. He came back the next day and the next, but aye he got the same answer.

4. (intransitive) To make a sound like sighing.

   Synonym: (obsolete) sithe

   • 1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLC:

     And the coming wind did roar more loud, / And the sails did sigh like sedge.

   • 1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The Death of the Old Year”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

     The winter winds are wearily sighing.

5. (transitive) To exhale (the breath) in sighs.

   Synonym: (obsolete) sithe

   She sighed a sigh that was nearly a groan.

   sigh a note and sing a note

   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

     Never man sighed truer breath.

6. (transitive) To express by sighs; to utter in or with sighs.

   Synonym: (obsolete) sithe

   "I guess I have no choice," she sighed.

   She sighed her frustrations.

   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     They […] sighed forth proverbs.

   • 1763, Torquato Tasso, translated by John Hoole, Jerusalem Delivered:

     The gentle swain […] sighs back her grief.

Conjugation

Conjugation of sigh

infinitive	(to) sigh
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	sigh	sighed
2nd-person singular	sigh, sighest†	sighed, sighedst†
3rd-person singular	sighs, sigheth†	sighed
plural	sigh
subjunctive	sigh	sighed
imperative	sigh	—
participles	sighing	sighed

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Translations

to inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it

• Abkhaz: аԥсыԥ алагара (apsəp alagara)
• Afrikaans: sug
• Albanian: psherėtij
• Arabic: تَنَهَّدَ (tanahhada)
• Armenian: հառաչել (hy) (haṙačʻel), հոգոց հանել (hogocʻ hanel)
• Aromanian: suschir
• Avar: хӏухьел цӏазе (ḥʳux̂el cʼaze)
• Azerbaijani: nəfəs almaq (az), ah çəkmək, köks ötürmək
• Belarusian: уздыха́ць impf (uzdyxácʹ), уздыхну́ць pf (uzdyxnúcʹ)
• Bulgarian: възди́шам (bg) impf (vǎzdíšam), въздъ́хвам (bg) impf (vǎzdǎ́hvam), въздъ́хна pf (vǎzdǎ́hna)
• Burmese: ဟင်းချ့ (hang:hkya.)
• Catalan: sospirar (ca)
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嘆氣／叹气 (zh) (tànqì), 嘆息／叹息 (zh) (tànxī, tànxí)

• Czech: vzdychat impf, vzdychnout pf
• Danish: sukke
• Dutch: zuchten (nl)
• Esperanto: suspiri
• Estonian: ohkama
• Finnish: huokaista, huoata (fi)
• French: soupirer (fr)

  Old French: souspirer

• Friulian: suspirâ, sustâ
• Georgian: ამოსუნთქვა (amosuntkva)
• German: seufzen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐍅𐍉𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaswōgjan)
• Greek: αναστενάζω (el) (anastenázo)

  Ancient Greek: ἄζω (ázō), στενάζω (stenázō)

• Hindi: आह भरना (āh bharnā)
• Hungarian: sóhajt (hu)
• Ingrian: hoovvata, ohkaa, ohkia
• Irish: osna a ligean
• Italian: sospirare (it)
• Japanese: 嘆く (ja) (なげく, nageku), 嘆息する (ja) (たんそくする, tansoku suru), ため息をつく (ja) (ためいきをつく, tameiki o tsuku)
• Kazakh: күрсіну (kürsınu)
• Korean: 한숨짓다 (ko) (hansumjitda), 한숨을 쉬다 (hansum-eul swida)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاخ ھەڵکێشان (ax hellkêşan)

• Kyrgyz: күрсүнүү (kürsünüü)
• Lao: ຖອນໃຈ (thǭn chai)
• Latin: suspiro
• Latvian: nopūsties
• Lithuanian: atsidusti
• Macedonian: воздивнува impf (vozdivnuva), воздивне pf (vozdivne)
• Manchu: ᠰᡝᠵᡳᠯᡝᠮᠪᡳ (sejilembi)
• Maori: pūhoto, harapuka
• Marathi: सुस्कारा टाकणे (suskārā ṭākṇe)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: шүүрс алдах (šüürs aldax)

• Norman: soupither
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sukke

• Old English: sīcan
• Ossetian: улӕфын (ulæfyn)
• Persian: آه کشیدن (fa) (âh kašidan)
• Polish: wzdychać (pl) impf, westchnąć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: suspirar (pt)
• Romanian: suspina (ro)
• Romansch: suspirar, suspirer, suspürar
• Russian: вздыха́ть (ru) impf (vzdyxátʹ), вздохну́ть (ru) pf (vzdoxnútʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: у̀здисати impf, узда̀хнути pf

  Roman: ùzdisati (sh) impf, uzdàhnuti (sh) pf

• Slovak: vzdychať impf, vzdychnúť pf
• Slovene: vzdihovati (sl) impf, vzdihniti pf
• Spanish: suspirar (es)
• Swedish: sucka (sv)
• Tajik: оҳ кашидан (oh kašidan), нафас кашидан (nafas kašidan)
• Telugu: నిట్టూర్చు (te) (niṭṭūrcu)
• Thai: ถอนใจ (th) (tɔ̌ɔn-jai)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: of çekmek (tr), ah etmek (tr)
• Tuvan: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: зітха́ти impf (zitxáty), зітхну́ти pf (zitxnúty), здиха́ти impf (zdyxáty), здихну́ти pf (zdyxnúty)
• Urdu: آہ بھرنا (ur) (āh bharnā)
• Uzbek: nafas olmoq, xoʻrsinmoq (uz)
• Venetan: sospirar
• Vietnamese: thở dài (vi)
• Welsh: ochneidio
• Yiddish: זיפֿצן (ziftsn)

to lament; to grieve

• Czech: vzdychat impf, vzdychnout pf
• Finnish: huoata (fi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاخ ھەڵکێشان (ax hellkêşan)

• Maori: harapuka, kutare
• Polish: lamentować (pl) impf
• Russian: вздыха́ть (ru) impf (vzdyxátʹ), вздохну́ть (ru) pf (vzdoxnútʹ)
• Ukrainian: зітха́ти impf (zitxáty)

to utter sighs over; to lament or mourn over

• Bulgarian: възди́шам (bg) impf (vǎzdíšam), въздъ́хвам (bg) impf (vǎzdǎ́hvam), въздъ́хна pf (vǎzdǎ́hna)
• Finnish: huokailla (fi)
• Polish: wzdychać (pl) impf, westchnąć (pl) pf

to experience an emotion associated with sighing

• Finnish: huoata (fi), huokaista

to make a sound like sighing

• Czech: vzdychat impf, vzdychnout pf
• Finnish: huoata (fi), huokaista
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاخ ھەڵکێشان (ax hellkêşan)

• Maori: nguru
• Norwegian: sukke
• Portuguese: suspirar (pt)
• Russian: вздыха́ть (ru) impf (vzdyxátʹ), вздохну́ть (ru) pf (vzdoxnútʹ)
• Turkish: ahlamak (tr)

to exhale in sighs

• Finnish: huokailla (fi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاخ ھەڵکێشان (ax hellkêşan)

• Norwegian: sukke
• Portuguese: suspirar (pt)
• Russian: вздыха́ть (ru) impf (vzdyxátʹ), вздохну́ть (ru) pf (vzdoxnútʹ)
• Turkish: iç çekmek (tr)

to express by sighs; to utter in or with sighs

• Finnish: huokailla (fi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ئاخ ھەڵکێشان (ax hellkêşan)

• Norwegian: sukke
• Russian: вздыха́ть (ru) impf (vzdyxátʹ), вздохну́ть (ru) pf (vzdoxnútʹ)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} sospirare (it)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} suspina (ro), ^{(please verify)} ofta (ro)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} suspirar (es)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} sucka (sv)

Etymology 2

From Middle English sighe (“sigh”), from sighen (“to sigh”) (see #Etymology 1).

Noun

sigh (plural sighs)

1. A deep, prolonged audible inhale and exhale of breath; as when fatigued, frustrated, grieved, or relieved; the act of sighing.
   • 1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 7, in Pollyanna‎^[1], L.C. Page, →OCLC:

     To Pollyanna the air was all the more stifling after that cool breath of the out of doors; but she did not complain. She only drew a long quivering sigh.

2. (figurative) a manifestation of grief; a lament.
3. (Cockney rhyming slang) A person who is bored.

Derived terms

• le sigh
• sigh of relief
• yawn-sigh

 

Translations

act of sighing

• Abkhaz: аԥсыԥ алагара (apsəp alagara)
• Afrikaans: sug
• Albanian: psherėtimė f
• Arabic: تَنَهُّد m (tanahhud)
• Armenian: հոգոց (hy) (hogocʻ), հառաչանք (hy) (haṙačʻankʻ)
• Aromanian: suschir n
• Avar: хӏухьел цӏай (ḥʳux̂el cʼaj)
• Azerbaijani: ah çəkmə, köksünü ötürmə
• Bashkir: көрһөнөү (körhönöw)
• Belarusian: узды́х m (uzdýx)
• Bulgarian: възди́шка (bg) f (vǎzdíška)
• Catalan: sospir m
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嘆息／叹息 (zh) (tànxī)

• Czech: vzdech m
• Danish: suk n
• Dutch: zucht (nl) m
• Esperanto: suspiro
• Estonian: ohe (et)
• Finnish: huokaus (fi), huokaisu, huoahdus (fi)
• French: soupir (fr) m

  Old French: sopir m, sospir m

• Georgian: სუნთქვა (suntkva)
• German: Seufzen n, Seufzer (de) m
• Greek: αναστεναγμός (el) m (anastenagmós)
• Hebrew: אֲנָחָה (he) (anakhá)
• Hindi: आह (hi) f (āh)
• Hungarian: sóhaj (hu), sóhajtás (hu)
• Ingrian: ohhaus
• Irish: cuach f, ochlán m
• Italian: sospiro (it) m, sbuffo (it) m
• Japanese: 嘆息 (ja) (たんそく, tansoku), ため息 (ja) (tameiki), 吐息 (ja) (といき, toiki)
• Kazakh: дем (dem), дем алу (dem alu)
• Korean: 한숨 (ko) (hansum)
• Latin: suspīrium n
• Latvian: nopūta f
• Lithuanian: atodūsis m
• Macedonian: воздишка f (vozdiška)
• Malay: mengeluh
• Marathi: सुस्कारा m (suskārā)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: шүүрс (mn) (šüürs)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sukk n

• Ossetian: сулӕфт (sulæft)
• Persian: آه (fa) (âh)
• Polish: westchnięcie n, westchnienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: suspiro (pt) m
• Romanian: suspin (ro) n, oftat (ro)
• Romansch: suspir m, suspeir m
• Russian: вздох (ru) m (vzdox)
• Scots: sich
• Scottish Gaelic: osna f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: у̏зда̄х m

  Roman: ȕzdāh (sh) m

• Slovak: vzdych m, povzdych m, výdych m
• Slovene: vzdih m
• Spanish: suspiro (es) m
• Swedish: suck (sv) c
• Tagalog: buntong-hininga, hay (tl), hayahay
• Tajik: ох (ox), нафас (nafas)
• Telugu: నిట్టూర్పు (te) (niṭṭūrpu)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Tuvan: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: зітха́ння n (zitxánnja), по́дих m (pódyx)
• Uzbek: nafas (uz), dam (uz)
• Venetan: sospiro m
• Vietnamese: thở dài (vi)
• Welsh: ochenaid f

manifestation of grief; a lament

• Dutch: verzuchting (nl) f, klacht (nl) m
• Finnish: huokaus (fi)
• Portuguese: suspiro (pt) m
• Romanian: geamăt (ro) n
• Russian: вздох (ru) m (vzdox)
• Spanish: suspiro (es) m

bored person

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} sospiro (it) m
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} oftat (ro) n
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} suspiro (es) m
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} suck (sv) c
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} నిట్టూర్చు (te) (niṭṭūrcu)

Interjection

sigh

1. An expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like, often used in casual written contexts.

   Sigh, I'm so bored at work today.

Translations

expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration or the like

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 唉 (zh) (āi)

• Dutch: zucht (nl)
• Finnish: ohhoijaa, huoh (fi)
• Japanese: やれやれ (yareyare)
• Polish: ech (pl)
• Russian: ох (ru) (ox), эх (ru) (ex), ах (ru) (ax)
• Swedish: suck (sv)
• Tagalog: hay (tl)
• Ukrainian: ох (uk) (ox)

Anagrams

• Gish, gish, shig