Japanese · Joy & Triumph
やった
yatta
YAHT-tah · /jatta/
Yes! / I did it! / We won!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"did it / done"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The pure victory shout — passed the exam, got the job, your team scored. Fists in the air. Grandma-safe and universal, the first celebration word every learner should own. Drawn out as "yattaaa!" for maximum triumph.
Heard in the wild
受かった!やったー!
I passed! Yesss!
Where it lands
Nationwide
Quick answers
- What does "やった" mean?
- In Japanese, "やった" means "Yes! / I did it! / We won!". Literally it's "did it / done". The pure victory shout — passed the exam, got the job, your team scored. Fists in the air. Grandma-safe and universal, the first celebration word every learner should own. Drawn out as "yattaaa!" for maximum triumph.
- Is "やった" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "やった"?
- Say it "YAHT-tah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: jatta.
Related in Japanese
やばい yabai yah-BYE Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context 最高 saikō sigh-KOH The best! / awesome / peak うまい umai / umee oo-MYE Delicious! / So good! / Nailed it! よっしゃ yossha YOSH-shah Alright! / Let's go! / Here we go! 気持ちいい kimochii kee-mo-CHEE Feels so good / that's the stuff すげえ sugee (sugoi) soo-GEH Awesome! / Whoa! / Incredible!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Hell yes".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ώπα Oops! / Hey, watch it! / Let's go! — NOT mainly the plate-smashing tourist cheer.
- Italian Grande! Nice one! / You legend! / Way to go!
- Korean 아싸! Yes! / score! — the fist-pump syllables.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Que massa! How cool! / Awesome!
- Russian Офигенно! Freaking awesome! / Amazing!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.