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Here is the conversation with my Chinese friend:

I: I passed the application!

She: 你申请过啦

She: 恭喜哟

According to Pleco:

哟

  1. [at the end of an imperative sentence]

  2. [as a syllable filler in a song]

And it also writes:

1 (sentence-final particle expressing exhortation)

But the exhortation sounds awkward in this context (why does she have to urge me to do something?). So

  • How 哟 should be used in the conversation?

  • What kind of nuances it has?

  • Depending on the sentence ending with or without 哟, what differences would the reader (local) get?

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  • This is Sichuanese isn’t it? Perhaps more specifically Chongqingese if I recall correctly.
    – Mou某 ♦
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 3:04
  • @user3306356 She is Hangzhounese. You mean my older post? She is a different friend.
    – Blaszard
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 3:12
  • Oh okay, my bad. If it were Sichuanese there'd be a very different answer to this question.
    – Mou某 ♦
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 3:13
  • @user3306356 How is it different? Feel free to add an answer as it would be informative.
    – Blaszard
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 3:16
  • see grammar on interjections (叹词) e.g. ＂实用现代汉语语法＂ chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23215/… 哟／yo／，表示轻微的惊异（有时带有玩笑的语气）。例如：哟，挂住我的‌​衣服了。(哟 also occurs in the compounds 哎哟、喔哟)
    – user6065
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 5:46

5 Answers 5

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恭喜哟

But the exhortation sounds awkward in this context (why does she have to urge me to do something?).

Beside expressing exhortation '哟' also emphasizes the topic and add an earnest tone to the phrase.

恭喜 (flat, plain)

恭喜哟 (passionate, keen)

How 哟 should be used in the conversation?

As dictionary defined, 哟 is a final particle that expressing exhortation

過馬路要小心 Be careful when crossing the street

過馬路要小心(哟) Be careful when crossing the street (I meant it!)

What kind of nuances it has?

It is similar to exclamation like 'please!' , 'really!' in English

Depending on the sentence ending with or without 哟, what differences would the reader (local) get?

See the example in this post

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3
  • I see. Thanks. But then what is the difference from 呀, which I feel more familiar with and can be used like the exclamation point in English?
    – Blaszard
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 2:43
  • And is it used both in written and spoken context?
    – Blaszard
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 2:45
  • 呀 as a final particles, can emphasize the topic, and depend on the topic, it also adds 'commanding, affirmative or assertive tone to the sentence . In ' 過馬路要小心呀!' , '呀' add an assertive tone to it, make it sound like a command, Final particles are more commonly used in colloquial language than written language.
    – Tang Ho ♦
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 4:33
2

哟 in Sichuanese has slightly different connotations:

《成都方言》

词语: 哟

发音: yuo2

定义: 叹词，表示惊异、不满等：啥子（东西）～？

Expressing astonishment and/or dissatisfaction.

《广安方言与民俗词典》

词语: 哟

发音: yuo2

定义: ①用于疑问句或感叹句末，表示反问、责问、不以为然或不满等。例：你在搞啥子～？②表示否定语气。例：我还不晓得哟！以否定语气表示说“我晓得”。

Carrying a somewhat disapproving tone for reproving-like questioning.

Or expressing "as if I didn't know" -or- "duh"-type negation.

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1

哟 - Wiktionary

The pronunciation for "哟" is not just "yo", but it could be spelled like this:

yō, yāo, yōu

According to Wiktionary, it means an exclamation when one feels surprised on something. I think it's pretty much the same as "呀", e.g. "哎呀" and "哎哟" are the same thing, so both "哟" and "呀" can be interchangeable.

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0

To augment the other answers, 哟 sounds too cutie to my ear. I only say it when I try to pretend to be girly. But it could be different in the areas of TWN and HK.

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1
  • She is a HS girl.
    – Blaszard
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 13:14
-3

It is always used in the end of a sentence as a modal particle.

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