Phrase guide

Yoda condition

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌjəʊdə kənˈdɪʃn̩/
  • General-American: /ˌjoʊdə kənˈdɪʃən/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪʃən

1

noun

Meaning 1

A logical condition with the usual order of operands reversed for various reasons, such as avoiding the accidental misuse of = (assignment) instead of == (equality), an error that is harder to spot when using the normal order of operands.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, programming, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Yoda notation

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

An allusion to the somewhat grammatically reversed speech style of Yoda, a character in the Star Wars franchise—for example, "Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is." The term was possibly coined by Félix Cloutier (username “zneak”) in 2010, based on Yoda notation which is claimed to have been coined by Thomas M. Tuerke and published online in 2006.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 尤達條件 /尤达条件 (Yóudá tiáojiàn) — logical condition with the usual order of operands reversed
  • Finnish: ehto, jossa vakio on vasemmalla — logical condition with the usual order of operands reversed
  • French: condition Yoda — logical condition with the usual order of operands reversed
  • Polish: pisanie w kodzie warunków w szyku przestawnym w stylu Yody — logical condition with the usual order of operands reversed
  • Spanish: condición Yoda — logical condition with the usual order of operands reversed