hallo

See also: halló, Hallo, allô, and allo

English

Etymology

From Middle English halou, halow, halloo (interjection used to call attention), representing Old English hēlā, ǣlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”), equivalent to hey +‎ lo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /həˈləʊ/, /hæˈləʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ

Interjection

hallo

1. Alternative form of hello (“greeting”).
   • 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:

     Hallo father, here’s Pecksniff!

2. (dated) A cry of surprise.
   • 1890 February, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration”, in The Sign of Four (Standard Library), London: Spencer Blackett […], →OCLC, page 98:

     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.
   • 1863, Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby:

     Tom was just hiding behind a wall, […] but the groom saw him, and halloed to him to know where Mr. Grimes, the chimney-sweep, lived.

2. (transitive) To chase while shouting "hallo!"
3. (transitive) To cry "hallo" (to someone).
4. (transitive) To shout (something).

Conjugation

Conjugation of hallo

infinitive	(to) hallo
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	hallo	halloed
2nd-person singular	hallo, halloest†	halloed, halloedst†
3rd-person singular	hallos, halloes, halloeth†	halloed
plural	hallo
subjunctive	hallo	halloed
imperative	hallo	—
participles	halloing	halloed

^† Archaic or obsolete.

See also

• lo

Anagrams

• holla

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦaləu/

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

hallo

1. hello

Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /halɔ/, [haˈlɔ] or IPA^(key): /halɔː/, [haˈlɔː]

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (a greeting usually used to answer the telephone)
2. An exclamation to get attention.
3. (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): /ɦɑˈloː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hal‧lo
• Rhymes: -oː

Interjection

hallo

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

Descendants

• Petjo: hallo
• → Indonesian: halo

Estonian

Alternative forms

• halloo

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɑlˑo/, [ˈ(h)ɑlˑo]
• Rhymes: -ɑlˑo
• Hyphenation: hal‧lo

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (exclamation to indicate oneself, which usually is used when starting a telephone call)
2. (informal) an exclamation indicating wonder, demand, disapproval

   Ma teen kõike üksi, hallo, mis mul viga on!

   I do everything alone, hello, what's wrong with me!

References

• hallo in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
• “hallo”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

German

Etymology

Originally used as a call to the ferryman on the other side of the bank; related to Old High German holā, emphatic imperative of holōn (“to fetch, used especially in hailing a ferryman”), from Proto-West Germanic *holōn (“to fetch”). Also see French holà (“hey! stop!”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhalo/, /haˈloː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Interjection

hallo

1. hello
   1. a general greeting used when meeting someone
   2. an initial response when picking up a phone call
   3. a call for response to try and catch someone's attention

      Hallo, Sie haben Ihr Gepäck vergessen! ― Hello, you've left your luggage behind!

   4. used to express bewilderment

      Ich meine, hallo? Was glaubt der eigentlich, wer er ist? ― I mean, hello? Who on earth does he think he is?

      Hallo? Geht's noch? ― Hello? What the hell is wrong with you?

Derived terms

• aber hallo
• Hallo

Descendants

• → Czech: haló
• → Hebrew: הלו (haló)
• → Hungarian: halló
• → Polish: halo

Further reading

• “hallo” in Duden online
• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “hello”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• “hallo” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Interlingua

Interjection

hallo

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

Latin

Noun

hallō

1. dative/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

Borrowed from German hallo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haˈluː/

Interjection

hallo

1. hello (greeting, esp. when answering a phone call)
2. used to confirm that the person being addressed is paying attention

Derived terms

• halla (informal greeting)
• hallais (informal greeting)
• hallaisen (informal greeting, regional)
• halloen (informal greeting, regional)

References

• “hallo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Borrowed from English hello, halloo, hollo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haˈɫoː/

Interjection

hallo

1. hello

Spanish

Verb

hallo

1. first-person singular present indicative of hallar

West Frisian

Etymology

From Dutch hallo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /haˈloː/

Interjection

hallo

1. hello

Further reading

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