The English translation is below
日本語の「はい」は単語ではなく、『聞いてますよ〜』という
合図のようなものです。「はい」そのものが意味を固定するもの
ではなく、音の高さ、間、繰り返し、文脈で役割が変わるんです♪
もちろん私たちは意識して使ってはいないのですが
このシチュエーションにはこの言い方〜という決まりみたいな
ものがあるんですよね。
普通の「はい」はOK、了解、ですが
上がり調子の「はい⤴️？」は『なに？』という
聞き返しに使われます
周りがザワザワして騒がしく、こっちに注意を向けたい時は
『はーい、始めますよ〜』『はい、注目〜！』と出だしにつける
ことも多いですね。
玄関のチャイムの音がして、ドアを開けにいく時も
『は〜い！』（今行きま〜す）という意味でよく使います
「はいはい」この2回繰り返しは気をつけてください（汗）
『もう分かってるよ』というような、面倒くさい
これ以上会話を続けたくない、という遮断を意味します
子供の頃、親や先生にコレを言ってしまうと、ほぼ確実に
『はい、は1回でいい‼︎』と叱られます（涙）
テンション高めで「あー！はいはいはいはい‼︎」と言うと
『それそれ！確かにそう‼︎』『分かる分かる‼︎』という同意の爆発！
理解の到達点を表し、もはや共感の擬音になっています
。。。大丈夫ですか皆さん、ここまでついて来れてますか？（汗）
私たちは文脈や状況が分かれば、「はい」の文字を見ただけで
自動的にイントネーションが脳内再生されるのですよ♬
ではレベルアップして、電話の切り方に進みましょう♪
「は〜い、はい、は〜い」は『電話切りま〜す。それじゃまた〜』
という意味です。用件完了から、いい関係を維持したまま通話を終了
する儀式のようなものです。なので電話の相手がコレを言ってきたら
『あ、もう終了の合図だな』と空気を読み、
「は〜い、それじゃどうも〜』と返したりして
スムーズに電話を切れるよう協力体制に入ります（笑）
もう話すことはないので、という冷たさを避け
まる〜く、ふわ〜っと着地するイメージです♪
電話している人も、エンディングの「は〜い、はい、は〜い」
の部分は、なぜか軽くお辞儀をしながら話していて
日本人の愛すべき姿だな〜と感じます
ウソだと思うかも知れませんが、日本のドラマを観ていれば
上の表現に、ほぼ間違いなく遭遇すると思いますよ⭐︎
In Japanese, hai (“はい”) is not a word with a fixed meaning.
Rather, it works as a kind of signal that shows the listener is paying attention — something like saying, “I’m listening.”
The role of hai changes depending on factors such as intonation, pitch, pauses, repetition, and context.
Because of this, hai itself does not carry one clear definition.
Its meaning is shaped by how and when it is used.
Of course, native speakers are not consciously aware of these rules when they speak.
Still, there are shared, unspoken patterns —
a sense of “this way of saying hai fits this situation.”
A neutral hai usually means “OK” or “I understand.”
On the other hand, a rising hai? (はい⤴️) is used when asking someone to repeat what they said — similar to saying “What?” or “Pardon?”
When it’s noisy and you want to get people’s attention, hai is often used at the beginning of a sentence.
For example:
“Haaai, let’s get started,” or “Hai, attention please!”
In this case, hai works as a signal meaning “Please listen” or “I’m about to speak.”
The same usage appears when someone rings the doorbell.
As you go to open the door, you might say, “Haaai!” —
which really means, “I’m coming!”
Be careful with hai hai — repeating hai twice can sound rude.
Hai hai often implies something like
“I know already,”
“That’s enough,” or
“I don’t want to continue this conversation.”
Because of this, children in Japan are often scolded if they say hai hai to their parents or teachers.
It’s very likely they’ll hear:
“One hai is enough!”
However, when said with high energy —
“Ah! Hai hai hai hai!!” — the meaning changes completely.
In this case, it expresses an explosion of agreement:
“That’s it! Exactly!”
“Yes, yes — I totally get it!”
It shows that the listener has fully reached the point of understanding.
At this stage, hai almost becomes a sound effect of empathy rather than a word.
…Are you still with me so far? 😅
Once we understand the context and the situation, just seeing the word hai is enough for us.
The intonation automatically starts playing in our heads
Now, let’s level up and move on to how phone calls are ended in Japanese. ♪
“Haaai, hai, haaai…” is a common way to signal,
“I’m going to hang up now — talk to you later.”
This comes after the main purpose of the call has been completed.
Rather than ending the call abruptly, it works like a small ritual to close the conversation while keeping a good relationship.
When the other person starts saying this, we immediately read the cue and think,
“Ah, this is the signal to end the call.”
So we cooperate by responding with something like,
“Haaai, alright then — thanks!”
In this way, both sides smoothly move toward ending the call together.
It avoids sounding cold or dismissive and allows the conversation to land softly —
round and gentle, rather than cutting off suddenly.
Interestingly, during this final “haaai, hai, haaai…” part,
many Japanese speakers even start bowing slightly —
despite the fact that the other person can’t see them at all.
It’s one of those endearing moments that feels very Japanese.
The body follows the feeling of politeness and consideration,
even when it isn’t technically necessary.
It may sound hard to believe, but if you watch Japanese TV dramas,
you’ll almost certainly come across this expression.
Once you notice it, you’ll start hearing it everywhere. ⭐︎
