Russian · Hell Yes
Ура!
ura
oo-RAH · /ʊˈra/
Hooray! / Yes!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Hurrah"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The pure victory shout — also the historic battle cry Russian soldiers roar charging in. In daily life it's just "hooray": good news, a goal, a Friday. Sincere or ironic ("nu vsyo, ura, opyat' otchyot" — oh great, another report). Impeccably clean.
Heard in the wild
Каникулы начались, ура!
The holidays have started, hooray!
Where it lands
Russia (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "Ура!" mean?
- In Russian, "Ура!" means "Hooray! / Yes!". Literally it's "Hurrah". The pure victory shout — also the historic battle cry Russian soldiers roar charging in. In daily life it's just "hooray": good news, a goal, a Friday. Sincere or ironic ("nu vsyo, ura, opyat' otchyot" — oh great, another report). Impeccably clean.
- Is "Ура!" 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 "Ура!"?
- Say it "oo-RAH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʊˈra.
Related in Russian
Класс! klass KLAHSS Awesome! / Great! / Cool! Круто! kruto KROO-tah Cool! / Awesome! / Badass! Офигенно! ofigenno ah-fee-GYEN-nah Freaking awesome! / Amazing! Заебись! zayebis' zah-yee-BEES Fucking great! / Awesome as hell! Давай! davai dah-VYE Come on! / Let's go! / Alright, bye! Наливай! nalivay nah-lee-VYE Fill 'em up! / Pour the drinks!
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!
- Japanese やった Yes! / I did it! / We won!
- 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!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.