hey
The English phrase "hey there" can be translated into German as hey.
The phrase is an informal greeting used to say hello to someone.
Which one should you use?
While hey serves as an informal greeting, other German options include Hi, which is a simple and widely understood informal greeting or Hallo, which is also used in informal contexts. For a slightly more affectionate way to say "Hi there" or "Hey", you can use Hallöchen.
Did you know?
- Using Na? as a single-word greeting is a very common, extremely informal way to say 'Hey, how's it going?' or 'Hey, what's up?' among close friends.
- In certain regions of Germany, a simple hey might be replaced by Moin, which is used as a greeting at any time of the day or night, not just in the morning.
- The affectionate version Hallöchen uses a diminutive suffix -chen which is typically used for small objects like 'little bread' Brötchen.
Examples in context
- Hi! Wie geht's?Hi! How are you?
- Hallöchen! Schön dich zu sehen!Hey there! Nice to see you!
- Hey, wie geht's?Hey, how's it going?
- Hey, alles klar bei dir?Hey, is everything alright with you?
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix meet unexpectedly on the street.
- HannahHey, Felix!Hey, Felix!
- FelixHey, Hannah! Wie läuft's?Hey, Hannah! How's it going?
- HannahAlles gut, danke.Everything is good, thanks.
- FelixSchön, dich zu sehen.Nice to see you.
