ouais
/wɛ/
The French way to say 'yeah' is ouais.
ouais is used as an informal particle meaning 'yeah'. It can also be used as an interjection to express joy. Note that if you are responding to a negative question or expressing a contradictory opinion, you should use si instead of ouais or oui.
Meaning: yes (particle)
Which one should you use?
While ouais is the informal equivalent of 'yeah', the standard or polite way to say 'yes' is oui.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ouais is a colloquial form used primarily with friends, family or peers. It is considered too casual for professional or formal settings.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/wɛ/
Did you know?
- The spelling of ouais shares an ancestor with the archaic command oyez, which was used by historical town criers to get the public to 'hear ye'.
- Repeating ouais, ouais quickly during a conversation often signals that the listener wants the speaker to hurry up.
- Depending on the tone, ouais can be used as a sarcastic response that implies the speaker does not actually agree.
Examples in context
- Ouais, et alors ?Yeah, and?Tatoeba #10015078 by Micsmithel, translation #757399 by sctld
- Ouais, tu as raison.Yeah, you're right.Tatoeba #5423811 by sacredceltic, translation #5423332 by CK
- Ouais, on pourrait dire ça.Yeah, you could say that.Tatoeba #11588589 by Aiji, translation #3096848 by CK
- On se retrouve au cinéma tout à l'heure? / Ouais, à quelle heure?Shall we meet at the cinema later? / Yeah, what time?
- Tu n'aimes pas les légumes, n'est-ce pas? / Si, j'adore les légumes!You don't like vegetables, do you? / Yeah, I love vegetables!
- 25 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are deciding whether to order pizza.
- GabrielOn commande une pizza ?Shall we order a pizza?
- ManonOuais, bonne idée.Yeah, good idea.
- GabrielTu veux de la sauce piquante ?Do you want hot sauce?
- ManonOuais, s'il te plaît.Yeah, please.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yeah” translations and entries ouais, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ouais, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
