היי
hey
The Hebrew word היי means hey.
היי is a borrowed term from English used informally in Israeli society. Much like in English, the word can be used both as a greeting to get someone's attention and as an interjection to express surprise or a warning.
Meaning: informal greeting (intj)
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
היי is an informal greeting used primarily in casual settings or among friends.
How do you pronounce it?
hey
When do people say it?
While היי is a common informal greeting, another informal phrase used among young people in Israel is Ma nishma, which means "what's up".
Did you know?
- In Israeli culture, the informal nature of היי reflects a societal tendency toward 'dugri' speech, a characteristic style of directness and lack of formality in communication.
- Because Israel is a 'melting pot' of immigrants, using היי is a safe social strategy to avoid the formal linguistic markers that might inadvertently signal a person's specific country of origin.
- While היי is borrowed from English, Israelis often pair it with שלום, the traditional word for 'peace', to create a hybrid greeting that blends global modernity with ancient tradition.
Examples in context
- היי, לכן אני פה.Hey, that's what I'm here for.This example shows how to use היי to start a sentence.Tatoeba #5681053 by fekundulo, translation #3575465 by CK
- היי, תזהר עם זה!Hey, be careful with that!This example shows how to use היי to issue a warning.Tatoeba #5841672 by fekundulo, translation #2047636 by CK
- היי למה את בוכה?Hey, why are you crying?This example shows how to use היי to get someone's attention when asking a question.Tatoeba #6010452 by fekundulo, translation #3575481 by CK
- 71 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Noa sees Ido walking towards her in the street.
- נועה Noaהיי, עידו!Hey, Ido!Hey, Ido!
- עידו Idoהיי נועה, מה קורה?Hey No'a, ma kore?Hey Noa, what's up?
- נועה Noaהכל טוב, תודה.Hakol tov, toda.Everything is good, thanks.
- עידו Idoמעולה, נשתמע בקרוב.Me'ula, nishtame'a be'karov.Great, we'll talk soon.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
