What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of hoi, which means "hi" and allemaal, which means "all" or "everyone".
Which one should you use?
While hoi allemaal is a common and casual way to greet a group, hallo iedereen serves as a slightly more formal alternative for saying "hello everyone".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
hoi allemaal is informal and common in relaxed social settings. For more formal situations, you might use hallo iedereen to say "hello everyone", Goedemiddag allemaal to say "good afternoon, everyone" specifically during the afternoon or Geachte aanwezigen to mean "Dear attendees" during formal speeches or presentations.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Groningen region, you may hear Moien luu or Goeiedag luu to mean "Hello everyone". In the Netherlands, the informal phrase Dag iedereen is also used to say "hi everyone".
How do you pronounce it?
/ɦɔi̯ ˈɑləˌmaːl/
Did you know?
- The greeting hoi might actually be a distant relative of the English nautical call 'ahoy', which was used to hail ships at sea.
- While dag usually means 'day', the phrase Dag iedereen can function as both a 'hello' and a 'goodbye' to a group.
- Dutch has a specific distinction between allemaal and iedereen, where allemaal emphasizes the group as a collective whole.
Examples in context
- Hoi allemaal, hoe gaat het?Hi everyone, how are you?
- Hoi allemaal, welkom bij de bijeenkomst.Hi everyone, welcome to the meeting.
- Hoi allemaal, ik ben er eindelijk!Hi everyone, I'm finally here!
Example conversation
Julia enters a room where Noah and their friends are sitting.
- JuliaHoi allemaal! Wat zijn jullie aan het doen?Hi everyone! What are you all doing?
- NoahHoi Julia, we kijken een film.Hi Julia, we are watching a movie.
- JuliaWat leuk, mag ik meedoen?How nice, can I join?
- NoahNatuurlijk, ga maar zitten.Of course, go ahead and sit down.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (hoi, allemaal) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries allemaal, hoi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
