ouais

See also: ouaïs and -ouais

French

Alternative forms

• ouaip, ouay, ouep, wé, oe

Etymology

From oui via dialectal variants; also possibly from oyez.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛ/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

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

• mouaif
• mouais
• ouaip
• ouep

Descendants

• Louisiana Creole: wé
• Mauritian Creole: we

References

• “ouais”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
• “ouais”, in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse
• “ouais” in Dico en ligne Le Robert.