ヤッホー
yaahō
The Japanese phrase for hello casually is ヤッホー (yaahō).
ヤッホー is an informal greeting used among close friends or peers. It is often used as a high-pitched, cheerful greeting to get someone's attention, similar to 'yoo-hoo' or a bright 'hey!' in English.
How do you pronounce it?
yaahō
Did you know?
- While ヤッホー is used as a greeting, it is also the standard shout used by hikers in the Japanese Alps to signal their location to other climbers.
- The phrase is often perceived as feminine or childlike, so adult men rarely use it unless they are intentionally acting playful or cute.
- In Japanese pop culture, such as anime, characters often use ヤッホー to signal a high-spirited or 'genki' personality type immediately upon entering a scene.
Example conversation
Yota and Yui meet at a park.
- 陽太 Yotaヤッホー、結衣！Yahhoo, Yui!Hi, Yui!
- 結衣 Yuiあ、陽太！ヤッホー！A, Yota! Yahhoo!Oh, Yota! Hey!
- 陽太 Yota今日はいい天気だね。Kyou wa ii tenki da ne.The weather is nice today, isn't it?
- 結衣 Yui本当だね。散歩しようよ。Hontou da ne. Sanpo shiyou yo.It really is. Let's take a walk.
