Are you interested in an easy Japanese expression that fills you with positive vibes? I’m here for you! Welcome to “Japanese language fun time!”
Yoshi! All right. Let’s get started!
“Yoshi (よし)” is a casual versatile word that you can say to yourself or others. Let me introduce some of the situations where you can use it.
☆Praise
“Good boy/girl!” Have you ever praised kids or pets like this when they did a good job? My dogs always show me their calm and peaceful attitudes and make me say, “Yoshi, yoshi, iiko dane. (よし、よし、いいこだね)”
☆Approval
Let’s say, you submit a plan for a new project to your boss. After going through your document, your boss might say, “OK! Let’s go with this plan!” This “OK” would be translated to “Yoshi” in Japanese, so we can say, “Yoshi, kono an de iko! (よし、この案でいこう!)” But please keep in mind that yoshi is a casual way to describe “OK,” and I don’t recommend you say, “Yoshi!” to your boss!
☆Good
When I was working for a hotel, my boss said, “It’s our guests, not us, who judge whether our hotel is good or bad. Let’s show them our best hospitality!” To say, “ judge good or bad, ” we use “Yoshi ashi wo handan suru (良し悪しを判断する)” in Japanese. Yoshi means good, and ashi means bad. I hope you’ll find lots of good aspects of Japan and judge it to be an attractive country!
☆Willpower
Do you sometimes need a bit of energy to move forward? Especially, when you start something new or challenging, there must be some expressions to give it your best shot. Me? I often say, “Yoshi! I’ll get started!” “Yoshi! I’ll give it my all today!” or something along those lines. In English, “OK” “All right” might be what you say. It can help us accelerate and switch to the next stages of our day!
♪ Are you ready to say, “Yoshi?” ♪
In my book, “yoshi” is a magical, captivating word that brings positive tones. What is more, it’s short and easy to say. Please try to use it with your Japanese friends when you get a chance! Plus, it will motivate you if you say to yourself something like this…
“OK, I’ll roll up my sleeves and do my best today!
“Yoshi! Kyo mo ganbaro!” (よし！今日もがんばろう！)”
Thanks for joining “Japanese language fun time!” I’d be happy if you check out my past articles in which I introduced some other expressions.
♪Japanese language fun time! 1st edition →“Huuuuu!!”
♪Japanese language fun time! 2nd edition →“Jyan!!”
♪Japanese language fun time! 3rd edition →“Ton!!”
Working for an English language school. My source of energy is our students’ smiles full of curiosity. I love visiting my friends in and outside of Japan.
This was so helpful! I had heard the word many times, but I loved the explanation so I can use it better! Thanks, Rei!
Thanks for leaving the comment, Nathan! You made my day! Yoshi, let’s make our days wonderful today!!