If you have lived in France for a while, you will have noticed a fair few French words that are really more sounds than words - things like pfff, bah, oh là là or miam. Pronounced with a silent h, a sharp p and a lingering a, hopla (also spelled hop-là), hopla is a way of bringing attention to what you do. You might have heard a waiter say hopla as he puts your plate down. Other variantsHop is a word French people use for encouragement, like 'come on' or 'go!'. If you hear hop hop hop, it means you're in trouble.

Source: The Local January 06, 2020 14:37 UTC