Is it correct to say はい in this situation?


For example, let's say someone says

> いつでもいいよ！

In English I would just simply say, "okay, sure, alright" just to tell the
speaker I heard what they said.

I initially thought to reply with はい but that doesn't feel right, it feels
like はい is more of a confirmation than simple acknowledgement.

Is はい the proper term to use to acknowledge this kind of statement? What other
ways can I acknowledge someone said something?




「はい」 would **not** be an improper or unnatural reply for that at all. Of
course, it might sound more natural if you elongated the first syllable and
said 「はーい」.

Unlike what bilingual dictionaries might say, 「はい」 does not always mean "yes".
Instead, it is very often used to mean " **Sure, I heard ya** ", and when it
is used for that meaning, the person saying 「はい」 may not be in agreement with
the other person at all.

Other phrase choices would include:

・「わかった」

・「オッケー」

・「ほーい」

・「了解{りょうかい}」

・「よーし」

・「よっしゃ」 ← slightly dialectal




「はい」 would **not** be an improper or unnatural reply for that at all. Of
course, it might sound more natural if you elongated the first syllable and
said 「はーい」.

Unlike what bilingual dictionaries might say, 「はい」 does not always mean "yes".
Instead, it is very often used to mean " **Sure, I heard ya** ", and when it
is used for that meaning, the person saying 「はい」 may not be in agreement with
the other person at all.

Other phrase choices would include:

・「わかった」

・「オッケー」

・「ほーい」

・「了解{りょうかい}」

・「よーし」

・「よっしゃ」 ← slightly dialectal

