na-na na-na boo-boo
/ˈnæːnəˌnæːnə ˈbuːˌbuː/
na-na na-na boo-boo phrase: a taunt or putdown, typically used to indicate that the speaker believes they has beaten the listener in a competition or is better in some other way or in a general sense; or an expression of satisfaction that the listener has received some supposedly deserved minor punishment or misfortune (that is to say, schadenfreude).
Phrase
na-na na-na boo-boo
- A taunt or putdown, typically used to indicate that the speaker believes they has beaten the listener in a competition or is better in some other way or in a general sense; or an expression of satisfaction that the listener has received some supposedly deserved minor punishment or misfortune (that is to say, schadenfreude).
- ... is that the educators out there aren't aware of this, they don't know it or what?
Ms. Bolinger. It's like na na na na boo boo, make me do it.
[Laughter.] ...1992, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, Oversight on the status of special education in Iowa: hearing before the Subcommittee... - [Translator's note by David R. Slavitt] ...here is to make clear that this is a display of Schadenfreude, an elegant cocking of the snooks, a protracted "Na-na, na-na, boo-boo," a symphonic Bronx cheer!1998, Aeschylus, edited by David R. Slavitt and Palmar Bovie, Aeschylus, 2: The Persians. Seven against Thebes. The Suppliants. Prometheus bound, Alternate ISBN: →ISBN, →ISBN, page 5
- ... is that the educators out there aren't aware of this, they don't know it or what?
Forms of na-na na-na boo-boo
| alternative form | na na na na boo boo |
|---|---|
| alternative form | nanny nanny boo boo |
| alternative form | na-na na-na na-na |
| alternative form | na na na na na na |
| alternative form | nanny nanny moo moo |
| alternative form | neener |
Origin of na-na na-na boo-boo
Apparently from the longer childish playground taunt sung to a tune particular to the taunt: : I'm better than you, : na-na, na-na, boo-boo, : stick your head in doo-doo. Na-na and boo-boo may be imitations of sounds a baby or young toddler might make. Boo-boo may also indicate boo-boo, a minor injury which leaves a mark on a child such as a scraped knee.
Questions about na-na na-na boo-boo
- What does na-na na-na boo-boo mean?
- Na-na na-na boo-boo means a taunt or putdown, typically used to indicate that the speaker believes they has beaten the listener in a competition or is better in some other way or in a general sense; or an expression of satisfaction that the listener has received some supposedly deserved minor punishment or misfortune (that is to say, schadenfreude).
- What part of speech is na-na na-na boo-boo?
- Na-na na-na boo-boo is a phrase.
- How do you pronounce na-na na-na boo-boo?
- Na-na na-na boo-boo is pronounced /ˈnæːnəˌnæːnə ˈbuːˌbuː/ (US).
Words near na-na na-na boo-boo in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: na-na na-na boo-boo (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-na_na_na_na_boo_boo.ogg.
Cite this entry: “na-na na-na boo-boo.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/na-na_na-na_boo-boo. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.