Yea vs. yeah?

What is the difference between yea and yeah?

Yes. Si. Oui. Ja. Da. Yeah! Yea. Yep. Yasss. If you live in the United States, you know we have many different ways of saying “yes.” But when it comes to writing “yea” or “yeah,” you should know these words have different meanings (technically, anyway). 

So, what’s the difference?

The word yea is an archaic way to express an affirmative vote for verbal voting (“All in favor, say yea”). 

Yeah is an informal way to spell “yes.” We hear it all the time as a response like, “Yeah, I’d love to go to your party,” within exclamations to express excitement and joy: “Yeah! Parties rule!” or, literally, any song featuring music artist Lil Jon. 

Of course, we also see people use “yea” as a way to spell “yes” or “yeah” (especially within text messages or social media commentary). However, there’s only one correct way to use “yea,” and that’s within the context of voting. 

What does yea mean?

“Yea” is an old-fashioned formal way of providing a vote of support. You’ve probably heard the term as an adverb within the statement, “All in favor, say yea,” or as a noun to reference affirmations: “We counted 20 nay votes and 40 yeas.” 

If you didn’t recognize “yea” as a formal verbal vote, that’s probably because it also occurs as “aye.” As quoted from the movie Legally Blonde (2001): 

“It has come to my attention that the maintenance staff is switching our toilet paper from Charmin… to generic. All those opposed to chafing, please say ‘Aye.’”

The two spellings are acceptable ways to write the same word, but they do have different antonyms and pronunciations. To express a negative vote, the appropriate expression is either “aye or no” (aye pronounced “eye”) or “yea or nay” (yea pronounced as “yay”).

Etymology of yea

Middle English “yea” derives from Old English gēa (of Germanic origin), although it is similar to Old Norse ei (meaning “always” or “ever”).

What does yeah mean?

The adverb “yeah” (also spelled “yah” or “ya”) is a common casual version of “yes.” The alternative spelling appeared near the first decade of the 20th century, and we’ve been using it ever since to express excitement, consent, elation, acceptance, and more. 

Speaking of which, you might recognize phrases like “yeah, right,” “yeah, okay,” or “oh, yeah,” whose meanings can veer away from our traditional understanding (when the context is right). For example: 

An exclamation of triumph or great excitement

A: “Congratulations! You won the race!”
B: “Oh, yeah! Who’s the champ?” 

A: “Who’s ready to go to the zoo?”
B: “Yeah! I love going to the zoo!”

An expression of recognition

A: “Don’t you remember the word? We studied this from the Oxford English Dictionary.” 
B: “Oh, yeah. The word is ‘impudence,’ right?”

A way to express affirmation

A: “Is that the committee chairman?”
B: “Yeah. I believe it is.”

A: “Did you find the New York Times citation?”
B: “Yeah. I found it in chapter six.” 

An expression of consent

A: “Would you like to go skiing in January?”
B: “Yeah, that would be nice.”

An expression of satisfaction or relaxation

A: “Are you enjoying the hot tub?” 
B: “Oh, yeah.”

An expression of doubt, denial, disbelief, or annoyance

A: “Don’t you remember the wipe-out?” 
B: “Yeah, I’m not really sure.” 

A: “But I heard you debating about the Senate yesterday.”
B: “Yeah, right! I would never talk politics with amateurs.”

A: “Did you hear there’s going to be an earthquake?” 
B: “Yeah, I don’t know about that…” (sarcasm)

A: “I know I’m right because I just learned about it online.” 
B: “Yeah, okay. Since you read it on a blog, it must be true.” (sarcasm)

A: “My parents bought me a pony.” 
B: “Yeah, sure.” (sarcasm)

Yea vs. yay?

If the topic of yea vs. yeah sounds familiar, that’s because The Word Counter covered similar material in the lesson for yay vs. nay. Within this lesson, we learn how yay is a homophone of yea, meaning they have similar pronunciations or spellings, but mean different things. 

In case you forgot: “Yay” is an interjection (i.e., an abrupt remark or exclamation) found in speech or informal writing to express joy, excitement, or approval. Such use is synonymous with expressions like woo, hooray, woohoo, yippee, or cowabunga. 

Sentence examples:

• “Oh, yay! I’m so happy for you!” 
• “Yay! I love chocolate cake!”

Where the two words overlap is when we use “yea” and “yay” to denote a vague or non-approximate measurement. For instance, someone might describe the length of a small animal with a hand gesture by stating: “My cat is about yea wide.” Likewise, someone might tell a parent that their kid needs to be “yay tall” to go on a carnival ride. 

Additional reading for yea vs. yeah

English grammar is full of confusing words and idioms. Stay on top of your writing game with related lessons on The Word Counter, such as: 

• Desert vs. dessert?
• Maybe vs. may be?
• Separate vs. separate?
• To much or too much?
• The Plural of Yes

Test Yourself!

Test how well you understand the difference between yea and yeah with the following multiple-choice questions. 

1. True or false?: When expressing consent, “yes” is the only correct spelling to use.
   a. True
   b. False
2. Modern English uses the word _________ as an informal spelling of “yes.” 
   a. Yea
   b. Yeah
   c. Aye
   d. All of the above
3. The corresponding negative vote for “yea” is ___________.
   a. Naw
   b. Nei
   c. Nay
   d. No
4. When speaking or writing in formal settings, __________ is the most appropriate response to use.
   a. Yeah
   b. Ya
   c. Yes
   d. Yea
5. The word “yeah” is commonly found in phrases that express ___________:
   a. Triumph
   b. Excitement
   c. Affirmation
   d. All of the above

Quiz Answers

1. B
2. B
3. C
4. C
5. D

Sources

1. “Yea.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2021. 
2. “Yea.” Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2021.
3. “Yea.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., 2021.
4. “Yes.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., 2021.
5. Luketic, R. (2001). Legally Blonde. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM).