Replying with はい,はーい or はいはい??

Mom,,,, look at me, I'm a bird !! 

In Japanese, はい means yes.

There are several versions of はい and are used in specific situations. Understanding the differences and being able to use those versions effectively can give you an edge with your conversational Japanese. 

• The normal はい

This is what you would learn in a grammar book. But, how and when is it used? And in what context?

This is the polite version of うん which also means yes. はい is used towards strangers, people you are not that close to, and in professional environments. 

Cashier: 牛乳の瓶を袋に入れましょうか？

　　　　ぎゅうにゅうのびんをふくろにいれましょうか？

　　　　　Shall I put the bottles of milk in a plastic bag?

You:　　はい、お願いします。

　　　　はい、おねがいします。

　　　　Yes, please. 

Work-mate (who you aren’t that close to):これを印刷してもらえますか。これをいんさつしてもらえますか

Can you have this printed?

You:  はい、すぐにします。

Sure , I’ll have it done right away. 

This is obviously the safest bet if you still aren’t aware or sure about your boundaries between another person. Sometimes you may be thinking someone is very close to you when the other may not, and that could cause some problems.

• はーい ( the friendly informal version of はい which is not うん)

This is something that can be heard when strangers start becoming acquaintances, and then close friends. It’s sort of this mild ice breaker that tries to penetrate the boundaries of professional relationships or formal relationships.

Let me give you some examples: 

Worker A: よかったら今日飲みに行きませんか？

　　　　　よかったらきょうのみにいきませんか？

　　　　 If you’re free later on, would you mind going out for a drink?

Worker B:  はーい、賛成です。

　　　　　はーい、さんせいです

　　　　　Sure, I’m in/agreed.

Perhaps worker B is still new to this job and worker A wants him/her to get more comfortable. Worker B replying back with a はーい looks very encouraging in terms of building more trust and closeness. 

Boss :   山本くん、今日ちょっと遅れるかもしれないと皆に伝えといてくれる。

           やまもとくん、きょうちょっとおくれるかもしれないとみんなにつたえといてくれる。

　　　Ms. Yamamoto, could you please tell everyone that I might be late today? 

    

Ms.Yamamoto :  はーい、伝えときます。

　　　　　　　はーい、つたえときます。

　　　　　　　Yeah sure, I’ll let everyone know. 

This might not be the case if Ms.Yamamoto had not known the Boss for a good amount of time. Also, Ms.Yamamoto might not have been the assistant or secretary of the Boss had there not been enough trust so I guess that also counts. 

• はいはい

This is used as a reply which contains some negative feelings, which is more often the case. It might be a little difficult to explain with words, so I’ll give you some examples.

Mom: けんた、今すぐ部屋を片付けなさい。わかったね。

　　　けんた、いますぐへやをはたづけなさい。わかったね。　

　　　Kenta, clean you room right this moment! Do you understand!? 

Son:  はいはい、分かったよ。

　　　はいはい、わかったよ。

　　　Yes Mom, I understand. 

  はいはい　here is used to show negative feelings ( angry towards having to clean the room immediately, or/and being nagged at by Mom)

towards the situation. 

Megumi: 彼はさ、いつもバカなことして本当に大変。そう思わない。

　　　　かれはさ、いつもバカなことしてほんとうにたいへん。そうおもわない。

　　　　He is like, a bloody arse doing stupid things and it’s such a pain. Don’t you think so? 

Maki:　はいはい、大変だね。

　　　はいはい、たいへんだね。

　　　Yes yes, I see. 

はいはい here is used to show feelings of boredom to having to listen to the same story. So although Maki is acknowledging what Megumi is ranting about, she’s not taking it too seriously. Rather she’s tired of always listening to such stories.