ouais
French, interjection
ouais is spelled O-U-A-I-S (5 letters) and appears 158 times per million words in written French, the 519th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ouais is a French interjection meaning “synonym of oui; yeah, yep, yup, yes, affirmative expression” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a diaeresis, ouaïs is a different word: “plural of ouaï”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Oui ; marque une réponse affirmative”.
What does ouais mean in English?
interjection
- 1
informalsynonym of oui; yeah, yep, yup, yes, affirmative expression
T’as eu ton bac alors ? – Ouais, tranquille.
- 2
informalsynonym of oui (used to express consent)
Damien est irresponsable. – Ouais ; ça lui jouera des tours.
- 3
datedwow
- 4
informalwhoo (expresses joy)
Ouais, on a gagné !
noun
- 1
masculineplural of ouaï
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
interjection: 1. Oui ; marque une réponse affirmative. 2. Marque l’assentiment. 3. Marque la surprise. 4. Marque la joie.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of ouais
- ouaip alternative
- ouay alternative
- ouep alternative
- wé alternative
- oe alternative
- ouai
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to ouais
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ouais in French?
ouais appears 158 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).