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?

Answer 1

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.

1. If I'm fighting

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.

2. 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.