One of the first Japanese words you’ll learn is hai (はい), or “yes.” No matter who you’re talking to, it’s a perfectly polite word to use to express agreement or confirmation. But what if you want to be more casual or formal when saying “yes”? Adding a few more options for “yes” in Japanese to your vocabulary will make you more fluent and more confident.
Knowing how to express “yes” and “no” in Japanese is going to be critical for your ability to communicate in even the most basic conversations. As you learn Japanese, find ways to practice speaking with others to use these words in context!
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How do you write ‘yes’ in Japanese?
In most cases, you’ll write words that mean “yes” in Japanese in hiragana. To use these characters in a sentence, slot them in similarly to how you would in English. This is the same if you’re writing or speaking it. In other words, hai can stand alone as its own sentence, as a question, or at the front of a sentence with more details following. Overall, Japanese word order doesn’t affect the placement of phrases like “yes.”
- Hai.（はい。）= Yes.
- Hai?（はい？）= Yes?
- Hai, ichinensei desu.（はい、一年生です。）= Yes, I’m a freshman.
The 3 most common ways to say ‘yes’ in Japanese
The most widely used word for “yes” in Japanese is hai. Beyond that, you’ll find several words with similar meanings, much in the same way that English has words like “yeah,” “uh-huh,” and “sure.” They all mean the same thing (although intonation and context matters), but the situation can dictate which ones make the most sense at the time.
Hai (Yes)
The word hai can be used in casual conversations and formal situations, so you can’t go wrong with it. If you only remember one Japanese word for “yes,” remember this one.
- Kare wa neteimasu ka.（彼は寝ていますか。）= Is he sleeping?
- Hai.（はい。）= Yes.
Pay close attention to inflection and context when you hear someone use hai. Although it means “yes” in most situations, it can also be used to say “excuse me?” (with a rising intonation) or to confirm “present!” during an attendance roll call.
Sō desu (That’s right)
Another extremely common word for “yes” is sō desu (そうです), which is close to “that’s right.” It fits most appropriately in a situation where someone asks for confirmation and their statement is correct.
- Nihongo ga pera pera desu ne.（日本語がペラペラですね。）= You’re fluent in Japanese, right?
- Sō desu.（そうです。）= That’s right.
To make this expression more casual, try saying sō da or sō, dropping the verb desu. Attaching the Japanese particles ne (ね) or yo (よ) to the end of the phrase can also add some flavor to your speech.
Mochiron (Of course)
For a more emphatic phrase, you can use mochiron (もちろん) to mean “of course!” or “definitely!” If you want to add an extra level of politeness, you can add desu to the end as well.
- Ato de tabe ni iku?（後で食べに行く？）= Want to go out to eat later?
- Mochiron!（もちろん！）= Of course! (casual)
- Mochiron desu!（もちろんです！）= Of course! (polite)
4 casual ways to say ‘yes’ in Japanese
How many times a day do you use “yeah” instead of “yes”? Probably more often than you thought. So if you’re looking for how to say “yes” in Japanese in a more casual way, here are four options.
Un (Mm-hm)
The standard, gender-neutral term for a casual “yes” is un (うん). Although it’s pronounced “oon,” the vowel sound is practically swallowed, resulting in the word sounding closer to just “n.” You might not even open your lips to say this word!
- Ne, kiiteru?（ね、聞いてる？）= Hey, you listening?
- Un, kiiteru yo.（うん、聞いてるよ。）= Mm-hm, I’m listening.
Ee (Yeah: feminine)
The word ee (ええ) is on the border between casual and polite. It’s generally used by women, and it has a softer, gentler connotation than hai. If you want to sound polite but feminine, you can use ee instead of hai.
- Ee, sō desu ne.（ええ、そうですね。）= Yeah, that’s right.
Ou (Yeah: masculine)
In contrast to ee, ou (おう) is decidedly masculine in tone. While ee can have a place in polite conversation, ou is more commonly found in casual situations. You can also use it to say “hey!” (although the tone is still masculine).
- Ou! Itadakimasu!（おう！いただきます！）= Yeah! Thanks for the food!
Yoshi (Alright)
Yoshi (よし) is a great slang word in Japanese for “yes” when celebrating success. It’s one of the first examples of Japanese slang you’re likely to hear. Despite how it looks, this word is not pronounced like Nintendo’s green dinosaur named Yoshi. Instead, you’ll drop the “i,” resulting in a word that sounds like “yohsh.”
- Yoshi! Manten o totta!（よし！満点を取った！）= Alright! I got a perfect score!
2 formal ways to say ‘yes’ in Japanese
A simple “okay” or “yes” in business situations isn’t always sufficient—both in English and in Japanese. Instead, you’ll hear (or use) these expressions that confirm your understanding of what’s going on and also add a higher level of formality. Knowing the difference between formal vs. informal speech in Japanese is essential to matching the right words with the right situations.
Kashikomari mashita (Certainly)
Typically used in a business setting, kashikomari mashita (畏まりました) comes from the verb “kashikomaru“ (畏まる, to respectfully obey) and means that a request has been acknowledged, understood, and confirmed. You’ll hear this everywhere from the convenience store to formal business transactions at a major corporation.
- Kōhī o ippai kudasai.（コーヒーを一杯下さい。）= One coffee, please.
- Hai, kashikomari mashita.（はい、畏まりました。）= Yes, certainly.
Wakari mashita (Understood)
Think of wakari mashita (分かりました) as the formal version of “okay” in Japanese. It’s not necessarily a confirmation that the person speaking will do anything with the information, but it is a confirmation that they have received and understand the message. In other words, “understood.”
- Kaigi ga henkō saretan desu.（会議が変更されたんです。）= The meeting was rescheduled.
- Wakarimashita.（分かりました。）= Understood.
Other useful ways to say ‘yes’
Just like how there’s a miniscule difference between “uh-huh” and “mm-hm,” Japanese offers a few more ways to say “yes” that are nearly identical in meaning to other words in this guide. Some of these words double as Japanese adverbs, which you can choose to pair with another word for “yes” (like hai or un), but you don’t have to.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| へいへい | hei hei | Gotcha (casual) |
| その通り | sono tōri | That’s exactly right (casual) |
| その通りです | sono tōri desu | That’s exactly right (polite) |
| 了解しました | ryōkai shimashita | Roger that (formal) |
| 是非 | zehi | Certainly (also an adverb) |
| 本当に | hontō ni | Really (also an adverb) |
| 確かに | tashika ni | Surely (also an adverb) |
| 絶対に | zettai ni | Absolutely (also an adverb) |
| イエス | iesu | Yes (casual; loanword) |
| オッケー | okkē | Okay (casual; loanword) |
Jump into conversations with Rosetta Stone
Practicing basic phrases like “yes” in Japanese is the quickest way to remember them. But how do you practice if you have no one to practice with? That’s where using language immersion learning comes in.
The most natural way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in it the same way you did when you learned your native language. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method is integrated into its core lessons, providing you with visual and audio cues as each new word is introduced. Even if you’ve never seen a word before, the combination of images, text, and audio from native speakers sets you up to store new information in your long term memory.
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