এই
ei/ei̯/
এই (ei) is the Bengali way to say "hey".
The word এই is used as an informal way to get someone's attention, similar to 'hey' in English.
Meaning: informal greeting (intj)
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Using এই to call someone is considered very informal and can be perceived as rude if used with elders or strangers.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is ei.
Did you know?
- Among close friends, এই is frequently repeated twice as এই এই to express urgency or to hush someone, shifting its meaning from 'hey' to 'wait a minute'.
- The word এই is a result of univerbation, where the vowel এ and the suffix -ই merged into a single word over time.
- In many Bengali households, calling an elder এই is seen as a significant breach of etiquette. Instead, speakers use kinship terms like মা for mother or কাকা for uncle even if they are not biologically related.
Examples in context
- হাই কেমন আছো?Hi, how are you?
- এই, শুনছো?Ei, shuncho?Hey, are you listening?
- এই যে, এদিকে এসো।Ei je, edike esho.Hey, come here.
- এই, তুমি কি আসছো?Ei, tumi ki ashcho?Hey, are you coming?
Example conversation
Rahul calls out to Ananya in a park.
- রাহুল Rahulএই, অনন্যা!Ei, Ananya!Hey, Ananya!
- অনন্যা Ananyaহ্যাঁ রাহুল, বলো?Haan Rahul, bolo?Yes Rahul, tell me?
- রাহুল Rahulচলো আজ বাইরে যাই।Cholo aaj baire jai.Let's go out today.
- অনন্যা Ananyaঠিক আছে, চলো।Thik ache, cholo.Okay, let's go.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry এই, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries এই, CC BY-SA 4.0.
