different between hallo vs hey

English

Etymology

From Middle English halou, halow, halloo (interjection used to call attention), representing Old English h?l?, ?l?, ?al? (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”), equivalent to hey +? lo.

Interjection

hallo

1. Alternative form of hello
2. (dated) A cry of surprise.
   • 1890, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of the Four,

     It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. The answer should give us the — But hallo! here are the accredited representatives of the law.

Synonyms

• (hello): See Thesaurus:hello
• (cry of surprise): See Thesaurus:wow

Noun

hallo (plural hallos or halloes)

1. The cry "hallo!"
2. A shout of exultation.

Verb

hallo (third-person singular simple present hallos or halloes, present participle halloing, simple past and past participle halloed)

1. (intransitive) To shout, or to call with a loud voice.
2. (transitive) To chase while shouting "hallo!"
3. (transitive) To cry "hallo" (to someone).
4. (transitive) To shout (something).

Conjugation

See also

• lo
• Category:Greetings

Anagrams

• holla

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?al?u/

Interjection

hallo

1. hello

Danish

Etymology

Imperative of Middle High German haln (“to fetch (a ferryman)”); see German hallo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hal?/, [ha?l?] or IPA^(key): /hal??/, [ha?l??]

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (a greeting usually used to answer the telephone)
2. (as a noun, rare) n hello ("Hello!" or an equivalent greeting)

Further reading

• “hallo” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English hello, halloo, hollo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???lo?/
• Hyphenation: hal?lo
• Rhymes: -o?

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (a general greeting used when meeting somebody) [from 19th c.]

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: halo

Estonian

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (a greeting usually used to answer the telephone)

German

Etymology

Originally used as a call to the ferryman on the other side of the bank; related to Old High German hol?, emphatic imperative of hol?n (“to fetch, used especially in hailing a ferryman”). Also see French holà (“hey! stop!”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?halo/, /ha?lo?/

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (a general greeting used when meeting somebody)

Derived terms

• aber hallo

Further reading

• “hallo” in Duden online
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “hello”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Interlingua

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (a greeting usually used to answer the telephone or when meeting somebody)

Latin

Noun

hall?

1. dative singular of hallus
2. ablative singular of hallus

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From German hallo, Hallo.

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (greeting)

References

• “hallo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From German hallo, Hallo.

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (greeting)

References

• “hallo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Borrowed from English hello, halloo, hollo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ha??o?/

Interjection

hallo

1. Hello.

Spanish

Verb

hallo

1. First-person singular (yo) present indicative form of hallar.

West Frisian

Etymology

From Dutch hallo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ha?lo?/

Interjection

hallo

1. hello

Further reading

• “hallo”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: h?, IPA^(key): /he?/
• Homophone: hay
• Rhymes: -e?

Etymology 1

From Middle English hey, hei, also without h- in ey, from Old English *h?, ?a (interjection), attested as first element in h?l?, ?al? (“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”), Romanian hei, Russian ?? (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 ??? (he:), Finnish hei, Unami hè, and Mandarin ? (?i), and various sound-alikes as Ancient Greek ??? (eîa) and Latin eia, eho, Sanskrit ?? (he). See also hello.

Alternative forms

• hay
• heigh

Interjection

hey

1. An exclamation to get attention.

2. A protest or reprimand.

3. An expression of surprise.

4. An informal greeting, similar to hi.

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

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

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

Related terms

Translations

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.

Noun

hey (plural heys)

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

Translations

Etymology 3

See he.

Noun

hey (plural heys)

1. Alternative spelling of he (Hebrew letter)

Anagrams

• Yeh, hye, yeh

Faroese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Interjection

hey

1. hi, hey, hello

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

   Antonyms: farvæl, vit síggjast

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hei?/
• Rhymes: -ei?

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hey, from Proto-Germanic *hawj?.

Noun

hey n (genitive singular heys, nominative plural hey)

1. (usually uncountable) hay

Declension

Etymology 2

Interjection

hey

1. hey

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English h??, h?e?, from Proto-West Germanic *hawi, from Proto-Germanic *hawj? (“hay”).

Noun

hey (uncountable)

1. hay

Alternative forms

• hey?, heygh, hay, ay, heyn, hayn, hei, hei?, 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 *h?, ?a. See English hey for more.

Interjection

hey

1. hey

Alternative forms

• hay, ay, he, heh, heigh

Descendants

• English: hey
• Scots: hey

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 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

Borrowed from English hey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ei/, [?ei?]

• (Imitating English) IPA^(key): /?xei/, [?xei?]

Interjection

¡hey!

1. hey!

   Synonyms: eh, oye

Related terms

• ah
• oh
• hala

Yola

Noun

hey

1. Alternative form of hye