へえ (also written へー or へぇ) is a short reaction to new information: “oh, really?”, “huh, interesting”. A rising へえ？ shows surprise or doubt; a long flat へー can mean “I don’t care”. With a boss, add more: へえ、そうなんですか.
A light reaction of interest or mild surprise. A long, flat へー can sound bored or sarcastic, which comedians use for laughs.
Two performers argue over who is more 面白い ('funny' or 'interesting'), and one starts sharing a trivia fact about snails.
Huh.
Textbookそうなんですか。Drawn-out へぇー is a casual reaction replacing そうなんですか, signaling 'huh, I see' to the trivia.
Two friends decide to practice visiting a high-end sushi restaurant, with one playing the chef and the other a customer.
Culture note "Non-rotating" sushi means a traditional counter restaurant, as opposed to cheap conveyor-belt sushi; the chef is called 大将.
Huh, there's a sushi place over there.
Textbookへえ、あんなところにお寿司屋さんがあるんですね。「へぇー」 voices mild surprise; 「あるんだ」 is casual 「あるんですね」, with 「の」 shortened to 「ん」 and the particle 「が」 dropped.
At the start of the act, one performer mentions having gotten married last year.
Whoa, really!?
Textbookそうなんですか!?Short, sharp へぇっ (with small っ) is a startled 'what, really!?', replacing the textbook そうなんですか.
During gossip that Tanaka was seen entering a love hotel, the talk turns to whether love hotels are unique to Japan.
Culture note Love hotels are short-stay hotels in Japan that couples use for privacy, often rented by the hour.
Huh, really!
Textbookそうなんですか。The casual reaction "へー" ("huh, really?") stands in for the polite "そうなんですか".
On a retro TV music show, two performers get mixed up between Okinawa's chinsuko cookie and the band Ketsumeishi.
Culture note Chinsuko is a shortbread-like sweet sold as an Okinawa souvenir; Ketsumeishi is a well-known Japanese hip-hop group.
Huh.
Textbookそうなんですか。Drawn-out へぇー is a casual 'huh, really?' reaction, replacing the textbook そうなんですか.
From other routines in the library. Automatic transcripts, not yet checked line by line.
へえ means “huh, really?” / “oh, I see”. へえ (also written へー or へぇ) is a short reaction to new information: “oh, really?”, “huh, interesting”. A rising へえ？ shows surprise or doubt; a long flat へー can mean “I don’t care”. With a boss, add more: へえ、そうなんですか.
With friends: OK. With coworkers: OK. With a boss or teacher: careful. A light reaction of interest or mild surprise. A long, flat へー can sound bored or sarcastic, which comedians use for laughs.
In 2,334 live comedy routines, へえ appears in 120 lines from 71 comedians.