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ヘトヘト
phonetically pronounced: ”heh toe heh toe” (spelled heto heto), quickly became my favorite word in Japanese.
It's slang for "I'm tired."
It's slang for "I'm tired."
ヘトヘト piqued my interest initially because I enjoy onomatopoeia.
Example: もしもし
Sounds like "moo she moo she," spelled moshi moshi.
Japan loves their rhyme sounds, too.
Example: もしもし
Sounds like "moo she moo she," spelled moshi moshi.
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One time I made the mistake of not responding with もしもしon the phone.
Caller: もしもし。 (Greeting on the phone.)
Me: こんにちは (konichiwa: Good afternoon / hello.)
Caller: もしもし (Louder this time to hint repeat me.)
Me: はい? (Hi: Yes? Because I'll say what I want.)
Caller: もしもし!! (Say it because this is JAPAN!!)
Me: なに?! (Nani: What, dude?)
Caller: もしもし! ! 😈 (I can do this all day, Foreigner!)
Me: ちくしょーもしもし。(Kusoo: Dang it! Greeting on the phone.)
Then the conversation started.
So as you can see Japan is really into their rules and onomatopoeia usage.
Intrigued with how many different ways I could say "I'm tired," I searched by asking my friends and family. Some of these are slang, and some are direct.
American Sign Language:
Video Here
Buggered
Brazil (Portuguese):
Morto na farofa
Canada:
Bagged
China:
我叹了 and 我三家爱了
(wo tan le / wo san j'ai le)
Ecuador:
Estoy agotado
France:
Fatigué
Indonesia:
Capek banget
and borrowed from Arabic
lelah hayati
Wrecked or bolloxed
Israel:
Gamur
Italy:
Stanco morto
Sono stanco
ヘトヘト
J'suis fatigué
Peru:
Estoy agotado
Philippines:
Pagod
Russia:
подзаибался на работе (podzaibalsya na rabote: it's a bit dirty and involves profanity. Use your imagination.)
United States:
Drained (many others)
Vietnam:
Bèo nhèo
Wales:
Knackered
And finally, my favorite language . . .
Yiddish:
Oysgehorevet
Here's a list of countries where English is the primary language. I don't know slang for "I'm tired" in the unhighlighted countries. Do you?
Anguilla
| Ireland, Northern | Singapore |
Antigua and Barbuda | Ireland, Republic of | Solomon Islands |
Australia | Jamaica | South Africa |
Bahamas | Kenya | Swaziland |
Barbados | Lesotho | Tanzania |
Belize | Liberia | Tonga |
Bermuda | Malawi | Trinidad and Tobago |
Botswana | Malta | Turks and Caicos Islands |
British Virgin Islands | Mauritius | Uganda |
Cameroon | Montserrat | United Kingdom |
Canada (except Quebec) | Namibia | Vanuatu |
Cayman Islands | New Zealand | Wales |
Dominica | Nigeria | Zambia |
England | Papua New Guinea | Zimbabwe |
Fiji | St. Kitts and Nevis | |
Gambia | St. Lucia | |
Ghana | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | |
Gibraltar | Scotland | |
Grenada | Seychelles | |
Guyana | Sierra Leone |
I'm rather spent, beat, and a bit worn out (different ways to say "tired" in America) after compiling this list of ways to say
ヘトヘト
ヘトヘト
Thanks for your help:
Ana, Beryl, Brian, Cody, Darlene, David, Dee, Flo, Gadi, Ga Bri Elle, Han, JP, Keiko, Señorita Maria, Mark, Martin, Max, Megan, Mou, Na Na, Raíssa, ランギ マコール, Robert B, Rio, Sharon, Stephen, Syarif, and YF.
Flags are from Wikipedia.
Flags are from Wikipedia.