I just made the Cajun salmon again, with a whole stalk of broccoli and a bit of mac’n’cheese. Needless to say, I’m stuffed! And it was darned tasty, too.
So I let out a contented sigh and say, ‘Yosh(i)!’ ISTR that ‘yoshi’ means ‘OK’ or ‘Very well’ or ‘good’. But I stopped speaking Japanese when I was little, and now I’m not so sure. I do remember seeing a Japanese character (Yamamoto?) in Tora! Tora! Tora! saying it as he looked over a map during a briefing.
What is the colloquial meaning of ‘yoshi’ when used as an interjection or exclamation?
That’s not what I would have said. IMO yoshi, when used as an interjection, has a connotation of “so far, so good” or “good, I think this is going to work” or as mentioned above, “alright, let’s do this”. I normally wouldn’t use it for something that’s concluded in a satisfactory manner.
In this specific case, I’d have said oishikatta (“was delicious”).
After an enjoyable experience, I often say ‘Right!’ or ‘All righty, then!’ or ‘All right’ or ‘All right, Aunt Ida!’ or ‘OK, then!’ or ‘Yesssss…’ or ‘Whee, doggie!’ or ‘Ah, that went well!’ or something similar. (I tend to say lots of things.) But definitely an interjection.
I’d say it sounds odd in context. IME, yoshi (よし) is more an interjection like “All right!” or “OK!” in English, in the sense of “All right (let’s do this),” “all right (we’ve arrived),” etc. I second the person who’d say oishikatta (おいしかった).
The dictionary I use confirms that when it’s written 善し, it’s “good (in moral judgement only) (judgment).”
*Oishii *(おいしい)is a more polite word. *Umai *(美味い or 甘い) is, to me, more casual, and IIRC more likely to be used by a man than a woman.
ETA:
If you meant it more in the sense of, “Well, that’s that!” rather than “That was good,” then it makes a bit more sense.
I’m saying it’s the wrong interjection for the situation you describe. At least, it seems odd to me personally.
I’m sure you understand that foreign words are not drop-in replacements for English words? A dictionary may say “yoshi!” means “alright!”, but that doesn’t mean it’s the appropriate translation for all uses of the interjection “alright!”.
Understood – which is why I asked in the first place.
Often after completing a task (eating a large meal, mowing the lawn, doing dishes), I’ll be like ‘All righty, then! Now that that’s taken care of, I can [whatever].’
