Japanese Exclamations for Carrying around Heavy things
Japanese has a lot of special purpose words. Today we are talking about a group of words which I don’t know exactly what we would call them. They are like exclamations but are said during festivals, exerting effort and so on.
INDEX
うんとこしょ、どっこいしょ
うんとこしょ and どっこいしょ often come in a pair. They are exclamations for when someone exerts physical effort into something. Or it can be said for when someone is worn out and moving around.
Another shorter version of どっこいしょ is どっこい. But, this has some other usages also for example in traditional song and dance movement. These words are not really every day words that people use in conversation. Rather you will see them in stories more often.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/よいっしょ
よいっしょ is similar to どっこいしょ. It is said when straining or exerting effort. よいっしょ though would be said for example when getting out of a seat, sitting down, or lifting heavy things. Younger people would not usually say this. It is more of a word older people tend to say.
Some other similar phrases are:
- よっこらしょ
- よっこいしょ
- よっこらせ
せーの
When you are about to do something with someone you can say せーの. This word is a way to tell people to get ready, set, and go! People say this to keep their actions in sync. So for example if you are trying to pick up a heavy piece of furniture this tells everyone to lift at the same time.
There are a few different version of this word.
- せーの
- せーのー
- いっせーの
えっほえっほ
When you want to talk about carrying something or someone around you can say えっほえっほ. This would be said for example when two people are moving fast or running while carrying someone or something. Like うんとこしょどっこいしょ this is more of a literary word you may see in stories or children books.
わっしょい
If you have ever seen a Japanese festival in person or online you may have heard わっしょい. This exclamation is shouted by people when they are carrying around Mikoshi, which are small portable shrines.
If you are interested in learning Japanese I have reviewed what I consider the best resource for Japanese Grammar below:
