Oops! 仕舞った vs. おっと

Question

Which interjection is more common to express Oops! 仕舞った or おっと? Are there any other exclamations for Oops that are commonly used?

See also: [Is しまった an appropriate translation for “Oops”?](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/9554/is-しまった-an-appropriate-translation-for-oops) — ジョン, Feb 19 '17 at 03:08

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 19 '17 at 02:42

TL;DR If I made a big mistake, I'd say しまった! If not so, I'd say おっと. If it's hard to distinguish to you, say 'おっと'.

We separate the words depending on a situation. Let's take 2 situations.

I say しまった！ (We write it in Hiragana commonly) when a opponent caught me off guard.
I say おっと when a opponent did something unexpected, but I dodged.

Talking with my friends

A: (After talked something) However, you left your umbrella at your house, don't you?
B: Oops! I forgot.

If B made a big mistake, B will say, "しまった！". If not so, B will say, "おっと".

However, we don't use しまった in daily life, so if you want to say "oops!" in Japanese, please say おっと.

1 Answers1