hey

See also: Hey

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: hā, IPA^(key): /heɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Homophone: hay
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1

From Middle English hey, hei, also without h- in ey, from Old English *hē, ēa (interjection), attested as first element in hēlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”). Cognate with Dutch hé, hei (“hi, hey”), German hei (“hey, wow”), Danish and Swedish hej (“hello, hey”), Faroese hey (“hey, hello”), Old Norse, Icelandic and Norwegian hei (“hey”), Polish hej (“hey, hello”), Romanian hei, Russian эй (ej, “hey”); see heigh. Probably a natural expression, as may be inferred from its presence with similar meaning in many other unrelated languages: for example, Burmese ဟေး (he:), Finnish hei, Unami hè, and Mandarin 哎 (āi), and various sound-alikes as Ancient Greek εἶα (eîa) and Latin eia, eho, Sanskrit हे (he). See also hello.

Alternative forms

• hay
• heigh

Interjection

hey

1. An exclamation to get attention.

   Hey, look at this!

   Hey! Listen!

2. A protest or reprimand.

   Hey! Stop that!

3. An expression of surprise.

   Hey! This is new!

4. (chiefly US) An informal greeting, similar to hi.

   Hey! How's it going?

5. A request for repetition or explanation; an expression of confusion.

   Hey? How's that?

6. Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said.
   • 1900, Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, page vi. 54:

     "Who 's a cur - now - hey?"

7. A meaningless beat marker or extra, filler syllable in song lyrics.

   The chorus is "nana na na, nana na na hey hey hey, goodbye".

Synonyms

• (exclamation to get attention): oi, yo; see also Thesaurus:hey
• (expression of surprise): blimey, gee whiz, yowzah; see also Thesaurus:wow
• (for repetition or explanation): eh, huh
• (informal greeting): hi, howdy, wotcher; see also Thesaurus:hello

Derived terms

• but hey
• heyday
• hey hey
• hey ho
• hey Joe
• hey pass
• hey presto
• hey rube
• hey Rube
• hey there
• hey up
• hey ya
• like hey-go-mad
• stomp clap hey
• what the hey

 

Translations

exclamation to get attention

• Arabic: يَاه (yāh), اسمع

  Egyptian Arabic: بقولك ايه

  Hijazi Arabic: هيه (hē), ياهو (yāhō)

• Armenian: հեյ (hy) (hey)
• Belarusian: гэй (hej), эй (ej)
• Bulgarian: хей (hej)
• Catalan: ep (ca), ei (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 喂 (wai³)

  Mandarin: 喂 (zh) (wèi), 哎 (zh) (āi), 嗨 (zh) (hāi), 嘿 (zh) (hēi)

• Czech: hele (cs), hej (cs)
• Danish: hallo (da)
• Dutch: hé (nl), ^{(please verify)} hé daar
• Esperanto: he (eo), hej (eo)
• Estonian: hei (et)
• Finnish: hei (fi)
• French: hé (fr)
• Galician: oi (gl), ei (gl), eh (gl)
• German: Hallo (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: οὗτος m (hoûtos), αὕτη f (haútē), ἄγε sg (áge), ἄγετε pl (ágete)

• Hindi: अरे (hi) (are), अजी (hi) (ajī), हे (hi) (he), रे (hi) (re)
• Hungarian: hé (hu), hahó (hu), figyelj, figyu
• Irish: hé, hóigh
• Italian: ehi, ou
• Japanese: おい (ja) (oi), ねえ (nē)
• Kapampangan: ne, na
• Korean: 이봐 (ibwa), 어이 (ko) (eoi), 야 (ko) (ya)
• Latgalian: dzie, klaus
• Latin: heus, eho, salve (la), (to multiple people) salvete (la)
• Latvian: klau, eu (lv)
• Louisiana Creole French: hé
• Malay: hei
• Maori: ētē, hā
• Mongolian: хөөе (mn) (xööjö)
• Persian: هی (fa) (hey), هلا (fa) (halâ)
• Polish: hej (pl), ej (pl), e (pl)
• Portuguese: ei (pt)
• Romanian: hei (ro)
• Russian: эй (ru) (ej)
• Scottish Gaelic: hòigh, haoidh
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: хеј

  Roman: hej (sh)

• Spanish: oír (es) (imperative), hey (es), ey (es), eh (es), hao (es) (especially at a distance)
• Swedish: hallå (sv)
• Tagalog: hoy (tl), uy, oy, huy, oi, ui
• Ukrainian: гей (uk) (hej), ей (ej)
• Vietnamese: ê (vi), này (vi), ơi (vi)

protest or reprimand

• Armenian: հեյ (hy) (hey), էյ (hy) (ēy)
• Catalan: ep (ca)
• Danish: hallo (da)
• Dutch: hé (nl), hela (nl), ho (nl), hola (nl)
• Estonian: hei (et)
• Finnish: hei (fi)
• French: hé (fr)
• German: ey (de)
• Hungarian: állj (hu), ácsi (hu)
• Italian: ehi
• Japanese: おい (ja) (oi)
• Kapampangan: na, ot, oi
• Polish: ej (pl), ejże, hola (pl)
• Portuguese: ei (pt), epa, opa (pt)
• Russian: эй (ru) (ej), э (ru) (e)
• Spanish: oír (es) (imperative), hey (es), ey (es), eh (es)
• Swedish: hallå (sv)
• Tagalog: hoy (tl), uy, oy, huy, oi, ui
• Vietnamese: ê (vi)

expression of surprise

• Dutch: hè (nl), huh (nl)
• Estonian: ohoh, ohoo (et)
• Finnish: oh-hoh
• French: holà (fr)
• Hungarian: nocsak (hu), nahát (hu)
• Japanese: オラ (ora)
• Polish: o (pl), ojej (pl)
• Portuguese: epa, opa (pt)
• Romanian: hop (ro)
• Russian: ой (ru) (oj), ух ты (ru) (ux ty), ого́ (ru) (ogó), ого́ (ru) (ohó)
• Spanish: hey (es), ey (es), eh (es), oír (es) (imperative)
• Swedish: hallå (sv), oj (sv)
• Tagalog: uy, oy, oi, ui, talaga, a (tl), ah

informal greeting

• Alutor: [script needed] (mej)
• Arabic: هَلَا (halā)
• Armenian: հեյ (hy) (hey), ողջույն (hy) (oġǰuyn)
• Asturian: ei (ast)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嗨 (zh) (hāi)

• Danish: hej (da)
• Dutch: hoi (nl), hé (nl)
• Esperanto: hej (eo)
• Finnish: hei (fi), terve (fi), moro (fi)
• French: coucou (fr)
• Hungarian: hahó (hu), helló (hu)
• Irish: hóigh
• Japanese: ヘイ (ja) (hei)
• Kapampangan: na, oi
• Latin: eho
• Louisiana Creole French: hé
• Polish: hej (pl)
• Portuguese: oi (pt), e aí (pt)
• Russian: о (ru) (o) (colloquial), ку-ку (ru) (ku-ku) (familiar)
• Scottish Gaelic: hòigh
• Spanish: hey (es), ey (es), eh (es), hola (es), hopa (es) (Colombia)
• Swedish: hej (sv), hejsan (sv), tjena (sv)
• Tagalog: hoy (tl), uy, oy, huy, oi, ui, ei

request for repetition or explanation

• Catalan: eh (ca)
• Finnish: hei (fi)
• Hungarian: micsoda (hu)
• Kapampangan: na
• Portuguese: hã, hem (pt)
• Russian: что (ru) (što), чо (ru) (čo) (colloquial, close to vulgar)
• Spanish: hey (es), ey (es), eh (es), oír (es) (imperative)
• Tagalog: huy, uy, oy, ui, ei

meaningless beat marker, filler syllable

• Finnish: hei (fi)
• Latin: o (la), ō (la), jo
• Portuguese: é (pt), hey (pt)
• Swedish: hej (sv)
• Tagalog: hoy (tl), uy, ui, oy, huy

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} hé (fr), ^{(please verify)} eh (fr), ^{(please verify)} hep (fr)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} hej, ^{(please verify)} ej
• Swedish: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) ^{(please verify)} hallå (sv), (4) ^{(please verify)} tja (sv), (4, 6) ^{(please verify)} hej (sv), (6) ^{(please verify)} hej hå

See also

• huh
• hay is for horses
• hey on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

From French haie (“hedge”), with reference to the weaving patterns used in hedgelaying. Doublet of hedge and quay.

Noun

hey (plural heys)

2. (country dancing) A choreographic figure in which three or more dancers weave between one another, passing by left and right shoulder alternately.

Translations

country dancing figure

• Danish: hej (da)
• Dutch: hey (nl)

Etymology 3

See he.

Noun

hey (plural heys)

1. Alternative spelling of he (“Hebrew letter”)

See also

• Yah-ta-hey (etymologically unrelated)

Anagrams

• Yeh, hye, yeh

Faroese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hɛi]

Interjection

hey

1. hi, hey, hello

   Synonyms: halló, góðan morgun, góðan dag, gott kvøld

   Antonyms: farvæl, vit síggjast

   hey aftur! ― hello again!

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse hey, from Proto-Germanic *hawją.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /heiː/
• Rhymes: -eiː

Noun

hey n (genitive singular heys, nominative plural hey)

1. (usually uncountable) hay

Declension

Declension of hey (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	hey	heyið	hey	heyin
accusative	hey	heyið	hey	heyin
dative	heyi	heyinu	heyjum	heyjunum
genitive	heys	heysins	heyja	heyjanna

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English hīġ, hīeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hawi, from Proto-Germanic *hawją (“hay”).

Noun

hey (uncountable)

1. hay

Alternative forms

• heyȝ, heygh, hay, ay, heyn, hayn, hei, heiȝ, heigh, hai, hain

Descendants

• English: hay
• Scots: hey
• Yola: hye, hey

References

• “hei, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old English *hē, ēa. See English hey for more.

Interjection

hey

1. hey

Alternative forms

• hay, ay, he, heh, heigh

Descendants

• English: hey
• Scots: hey
• Yola: ha

References

• “hei, interj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

hey

1. Alternative form of heye (“hedge”)

Etymology 4

Noun

hey (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of hye (“haste”)

Etymology 5

Pronoun

hey

1. Alternative form of he (“he”)

Etymology 6

Pronoun

hey

1. Alternative form of he (“they”)

Etymology 7

Verb

hey (third-person singular simple present heyeth, present participle heyende, heyynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle heyed)

1. Alternative form of heien (“to lift up”)

Etymology 8

Pronoun

hey (comparative heyer, superlative heyest)

1. Alternative form of heigh (“high”)

Portuguese

Verb

hey

1. Obsolete spelling of hei.

Somali

Verb

hey

1. possess

Spanish

Alternative forms

• ey

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English hey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈei/ [ˈei̯]
  • Syllabification: hey
• IPA^(key): (imitating English) /ˈxei/ [ˈxei̯]
• Rhymes: -ei

Interjection

¡hey!

1. hey!

   Synonyms: eh, oye

Related terms

• ah
• hala
• oh

 

Further reading

• “hey”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Yola

Etymology 1

Noun

hey

1. Alternative form of hea (“he”)

Etymology 2

Noun

hey

1. Alternative form of hye (“hay”)
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 46:

     Chourch hey;

     Church yard;

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 45