いいえ

Japanese

Alternative forms

• (usually in repetition) いえ (ie)

Etymology

/ina/ → /ija/ → /ije/ → /iːe/

First cited to the late 1600s.

Shift from いや (iya), from even earlier 否 (ina). While いや (iya) was broadly used in the Muromachi period, in the Edo period, いや (iya) shifted to use mainly in informal or more intimate contexts, while いいえ (īe) was used in more formal or polite contexts. いや (iya) is still in use, including broader senses not included for いいえ (īe).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) いいえ [ìíéꜜ] (Odaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [iːe̞]

Interjection

いいえ • (īe) 

1. no

   「東(とう)京(きょう)出(しゅっ)身(しん)ですか。」「いいえ、大(おお)阪(さか)出(しゅっ)身(しん)です。」

   “Tōkyō shusshin desu ka.”“Īe, Ōsaka shusshin desu.”

   "Are you from Tokyo?" "No, I am from Osaka."

2. yes (in response to negative questions), disagree

   今日(きょう)は雨(あめ)だから、ピクニックには行(い)けませんね？いいえ、雨(あま)ガッパを着(き)れば行(い)けます。

   Kyō wa ame da kara, pikunikku ni wa ikemasen ne? Īe, amagappa o kireba ikemasu.

   It's raining today so we can't go on a picnic? Yes, we can go, if we wear raincoats.

3. Response to words of gratitude.

   「ありがとうございます。」「いいえ、どういたしまして。」

   “Arigatō gozaimasu.”“Īe, dō itashimashite.”

   "Thank you." "My pleasure."

   「あ、どうも。」「いえいえ、こちらこそ。」

   “A, dōmo.”“Ieie, kochira koso.”

   "Oh, thanks." "Not at all, I should thank you."

Usage notes

May be considered overly direct. Use of simple declaratives is also possible, such as 違(ちが)います (chigaimasu, “it's different / that's incorrect”).

Synonyms

• ううん (ūn)

Antonyms

• はい (hai), うん (un)

See also

• 嫌(いや) (iya)