ouais

See also: ouaïs and -ouais

French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From oui via dialectal variants; also possibly from oyez.

Before becoming an informal synonym of oui, the word was exclamatory. According to Auguste Scheler, it could be linked to Indo-European roots: οὐαί (ouaí) in Greek, vae in Latin, uau in Portuguese, wow in English, wau in German, guau in Spanish or vai in Romanian.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wɛ/

Interjection

ouais

  1. (informal) synonym of oui; yeah, yep, yup, yes, affirmative expression
    Synonyms: (informal, mitigated yes) mouaif, (informal, mitigated yes) mouais, yeah, yep, yes, (anglicism) [Term?], (anglicism) [Term?], (anglicism) [Term?]
    T’as eu ton bac alors ? — Ouais, tranquille.
    You've got your baccalaureate then? Yeah, no problem.
  2. (informal) synonym of oui (used to express consent)
    Synonyms: (informal, mitigated yes) mouais, yep, (anglicism) [Term?]
    Damien est irresponsable. — Ouais ; ça lui jouera des tours.
    Damian is irresponsible. — Yeah; it will play tricks on him in the future.
  3. (dated) wow
    Synonyms: oh, ouah, mazette, (informal) purée, (vulgar) putain, waou, waouh
    • Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris, 1832
      Ouais ! dit le roi en se grattant l’oreille gauche avec la main droite, cela fait un bon bout de ma ville !
      Wow! said the king, scratching his left ear with his right hand, that's quite a bit of my town!
  4. (informal) whoo (expresses joy)
    Synonyms: hourra, yeah, yes, yippie, youpi
    Ouais, on a gagné ! ― Whoo, we / they won!

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Louisiana Creole: wé

References

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