やった
yatta[ja̠t̚ta̠]
The English phrase "we did it" can be translated into Japanese as やった (yatta).
やった is an exclamation used to express joy or excitement after achieving a goal or succeeding at something. You can also write it as やったー by adding a long vowel at the end to express even greater excitement, similar to saying "Yay!"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
やった is an informal form used in casual settings or as a spontaneous exclamation. For a more formal way to express achievement, different phrasing would be required.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Japanese, the subject is often omitted. Because of this, やった can mean either "I did it" or "we did it" depending on the context of the conversation.
How do you pronounce it?
yatta
Did you know?
- In certain contexts, the same word やった can be used sarcastically to mean 'oh great' or 'just my luck' when something goes wrong.
- While やった means 'we did it' in a joyful context, the base verb やる can also mean 'to give' when speaking to someone of lower social status, such as a pet or a child.
- While it is a common exclamation of success, saying やった to a superior, such as a teacher or a boss, can sound impolite or even childish due to its extreme informality.
Examples in context
- 私たちでやったんです。We did it ourselves.Tatoeba #9747013 by bunbuku, translation #258059 by CK
- オフサイド・・・じゃない！やったー！An offside… No! We did it!Tatoeba #1130560 by mookeee, translation #1130599 by Scott
- やった！We did it!Tatoeba #1107966 by Scott, translation #1107965 by Scott
- プロジェクトを成功させることができました。よくやりました。We were able to make the project a success. Well done.
- テストの結果が出たよ。やったね！The test results are out. We did it!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui successfully finish a difficult project at work.
- 健太 Kentaやった！ついに完成したよ！Yatta! Tsuini kansei shita yo!We did it! We finally finished it!
- 結衣 Yui本当にやったね、健太くん。Hontou ni yatta ne, Kenta-kun.We really did it, Kenta.
- 健太 Kenta二人で頑張ってよかった。Futari de ganbatte yokatta.I'm glad we both worked hard together.
- 結衣 Yuiお祝いに何か食べに行こう！Oiwai ni nanika tabe ni ikou!Let's go eat something to celebrate!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry やった, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
