What does the sumo call "hakkeyoi, nokotta" mean?
Let me give you the answer in thirty seconds."Hakkeyoi" is the referee's call that urges wrestlers to put in energy when they stop moving, and "nokotta" is the call that tells them "the bout is not decided yet" while they are moving. There are several theories about where "hakkeyoi" comes from, and the real origin is not clear.
"Hakkeyoi" is for when movement stops
In a sumo bout, the official in the ring, called the "gyoji" (referee), shouts "hakkeyoi, nokotta" to the wrestlers. According to the Japan Sumo Association, "hakkeyoi" is a call that urges both wrestlers to put in energy and fight, and it is used when the two stop moving. The Association also writes it as "hakkiyoi," and books spell it in different ways.
"Nokotta" means the bout is not decided
The other word, "nokotta," means "remained." It is called while the two wrestlers are moving, and it means "both of you are still in the ring, and the bout is not decided yet." In short, the referee says "hakkeyoi" when the movement stops and "nokotta" while they keep moving.
Three theories about the origin
Where the word "hakkeyoi" comes from is not clear, and several theories are known. The first says it comes from "hakkiyoyo", meaning to raise your spirit and take on the challenge, and the Association explains it in this way. The second says it is "hakke yoi", the word for fortune-telling, "hakke," plus "good." Dictionaries call this the most widespread theory. The third says it changed in sound from "hayaki hohe", an old way of telling wrestlers to hurry up and compete.
The origin is not settled
No single theory has been settled on, and dictionaries and researchers see it differently. You may also hear a rumor that the words came from Hebrew, but it does not appear in dictionaries or in the Association's explanations, and no support for it has been found in language research. Even without knowing the origin, knowing what the calls mean makes a bout on TV a little easier to follow.
Want to know more?
- A Japanese dictionary lists "hakkeyoi yoi, nokotta" from the 1900 children's song "Kintaro" as an early example of the word in use.
- A dictionary notes that the Association's referee rules, in the section on referees, write the word as "hakkiyoi" and treat it as meaning "high spirits."
- The "hayaki hohe" theory was set out in a 1972 paper by the researcher Masatsugu Okazaki, and the dictionary Sanseido Kokugo Jiten has included it since its 6th edition.
Quick quiz: test yourself
What does the referee's "nokotta" mean?
Show the answer
- The bout has started
- The bout is not decided yet
- The bout has been decided
The bout is not decided yet It is called while the two are moving, and tells them both are still in the ring and the bout is not decided yet.
It is called while the two are moving, and tells them both are still in the ring and the bout is not decided yet.
Next quiz ›Sources
- 大相撲クイズ No.241（行司の掛け声「はっきよい」の語源）日本相撲協会 (in Japanese)
- はっけよい（精選版 日本国語大辞典・デジタル大辞泉）コトバンク (in Japanese)
- 相撲で行司が使う「はっきよい(はっけよい)」「のこった」のかけ声の意味がわかる児童書が見たい。レファレンス協同データベース（国立国会図書館・岡山県立図書館） (in Japanese)
- 「はっけよい」（分け入っても分け入っても日本語）考える人（新潮社）・飯間浩明 (in Japanese)
This article was written after checking the sources above as of 2026-10-03. Explanations may change as research progresses. Photo credits are shown below each photo.
