I never paid this much attention until my dad mentioned today that it’s never sounded right to him when people say “hey” instead of “hi” or “hello”. I’ve been using it this way for at least 20 years, but I looked it up in various dictionaries and haven’t yet found a definition consistent with this usage. Most references just define it as “an interjection used to call attention” or something similar and leave it at that. Any thoughts or references that might shed some light?
The use of "hey" in place of "hello".
January 28th, 2006 by Andrew
24 Responses to “The use of "hey" in place of "hello".”
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Teaching English to Preschoolers with iPhones
We (i.e. the creators of Pain in The English) developed a series of iPhone apps to teach preschool kids how to recognize letters and words. (My wife developed the characters and I did the coding.) Our own 4-year old daughter has been enjoying them. They are now available on Apple's App Store. You can search for "bitskis" on your iPhone, or visit the official website at bitskis.com.
If you have kids and own an iPhone, please check it out. It's $2.
As quoted from http://www.thefreedictionary.com:
***Traditionally, hey was just an exclamation. Sometimes it expressed delight, sometimes a warning. Nowadays we find it used for emphasis as well, especially in the expression but hey. It is also a greeting. It is a short, colloquial version of How are you? and thus close kin to the informal salutation hi, which it seems to be replacing in many situations. Until recently, this greeting had a distinctly Southern flavor. The national survey conducted in the 1960s by the Dictionary of American Regional English found hey as a greeting restricted chiefly to Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The friendly hey has since spread throughout the United States.***
So, 1) Yet another salutation formed from what was originally a warning.
2) Yet another Southernism shared by all. Hey, I like that! :)
"Hey" means "hello" in Swedish.
This reminds me of the parental admonishment "Hey is for horses!" Which is usually used when a child says "hey" to get their parent’s attention.
It’s similar to "oi" in England, which is said more to get someone’s attention than as a greeting.
Skinhead punk music is commonly called "oi," which always annoyed me in North America. Shouldn’t it be "hey" music?
as Zac said…in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and a few other languages, "hej" means "hello," although the "j" is pronounced as a "y" of course.
Jon, oi in England? Thanks for the info. My Mother-in-law is English and I hear an occasional "oi" out of her. I would always think to myself, "How odd. Why is my Episcopal Mother-in-law speaking Yiddish?" Now, you’ve clarified it for me:)
Hej is spelled Hej. (hello in swedish)
I'd venture to say this is popular in the Southest US. While living there, I remember overhearing a girl say to a friend, "Hey! Don't walk by without saying 'Hey'"
It's pretty common throughout the U.S., I think. Originally southern, but no longer, as JP said.
And, also as he said, and contrary to what Jon said, "hey" as a greeting (as opposed to a request for attention) is *very* common. In fact, I'd say the "Hey!" meaning "Hi there!" is *more* common, nowadays, than the "Hey!" meaning "I'm here; pay attention to me!"
I'd guess that the English "oi" is more probably linked to the Dutch "Hoi" which is used as "hi" or "hello". Hej, hi, hoi, hey etc all most likely share the same root I'd have thought.
I'd also guess that the Dutch hoi is the root of the nautical "Ahoy", give that coutry's strong nautical heritage and contribution to nautical terms, which would also acount for the more common British English usage of "oi" being an exclamation to attract attention as in "Oi! What are you doing here?".
I am English, and I use 'hey' to say 'hi'.
'Oi' means something entirely different.. can be used to call someone's attention, but it is usually negative, as in, 'OI, what the hell do you think you're doing?' etc.
I wouldn't worry that you can't find it in the dictionary! It's slang, the language is growing and changing all the time.
Hey and Hi are clearly etymologically related. I mean, they're practically the same word (phonologically, at least). The difference between them is not semantic. Both are colloquialisms in English, but I would say that the former is more colloquial than the latter, hence its frequent as an attention-getter (but only when addressing someone of similar or lower social position).
I'm a native Texan, aged 30, and it saying 'Hey' rather than 'Hi' or 'Hello' is very common.
For example, saying 'Hello' to a co-worker in the hall comes off as sounding too formal, too snobby.
'Hey, What's Up?' or 'Hey, How's it going?' could be used to greet a colleague to either start a conversation or simply in passing.
In this area, 'Hey' is an accepted greeting-but definitely a colloquialism.
I've been hearing and saying "hey" for at least the past 30 years. And, by the way, I asked her and it turns out that my Mother-in-law IS speaking Yiddish when she says "oi", afterall!
This used to be a Southern thing – it has spread, which makes me kind of sad, as I miss being made fun of for it by my relatives in Kansas.
Here's a clue if a person is REALLY Southern – anyone these days will say "hey" in greeting, but if you are talking ABOUT greeting someone, and still use "hey," you are a true Southerner. For example:
"Let's stop in at Arlene's and say 'hey.'"
or
"Tell Aunt Jean I said 'hey.'"
or
"I just called to say 'hey.'"
Is there any romantic meaning in the word hey?
Never a use a hi or hello, but a comfortable hey used in conversation.
How about howdy?
I live in Cincinnati, and "hey" is very common here. It is, however, considered "familiar" and informal; you would never say "hey" to your boss. It is often used in a flirtatious sense, at least around here.
When I learned English letter writing, the only Salutation available was "Dear"Mr. So and So… not "Hey"Mr. So and So
For familiar use, especially in daily speech, anything goes and Hey can be tolerated, accepted and may even be endearing. But there has to be a difference in formal letter writing, there should be some politeness, refinement and grace. I can't imagine for example the teacher sending a note to the students starting with:
Hey students,
I would like to make an announcement….
If that's already happening, what has become of this country's culture? Does the word respect and refinement still exist? Have we given up on being classy at the expense of being hip, young or modern as an excuse?
Here I've been a tad offended by a daughter-in-law addressing me with "Hey" instead of Hi Mom or something similar. Getting a card today from a 15 year old granddaughter addressed the same, I realized it must be a new form of greeting. But still seems a bit disrespectful to these 75 year old ears.
"Hey" wasn't used as a greeting when I was young (in Alaska and Washington). However, in the 60s the blacks made "Hey, Man" popular among the younger generation. I suspect the present use of "hey" for a greeting came from that usage.
I used the "Peace be upon you" when greeting others.:)
I was using Hey in French as a greeting, and my friend got offended
I use “Hey” often. It is familiar and has affectionate overtones. I learned English growing up in northern Idaho. I lived in eastern Washington for the last 10 years and I’m now 25 years old.