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hej

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also: héj

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɦɛj]

Interjection

hej

hey, hi (an exclamation to call attention)

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Swedish hej (“hello, hi”), possibly influenced by English hi.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hɑj/, [hɑ̈j]
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -aj

Interjection

hej

hi, hello
(less common) bye

Synonyms

(hi): goddag

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “hi”): farvel

References

“hej” in Den Danske Ordbog

Esperanto

Etymology

From Polish hej, English hey, German hei, Latin heus.

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

IPA^(key): /hei̯/
Rhymes: -ei̯
Hyphenation: hej

Interjection

hej

(neologism, informal) hey

Greenlandic

Interjection

hej

hi, hello

See also

aluu

Hungarian

Etymology

An onomatopoeia.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈhɛj]
Hyphenation: hej
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɛj
Homophone: hely

Interjection

hej

oh!
hey!

References

^ hej in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)

Further reading

(interjection expressing sorrow, dismay, amazement etc.): hej in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
(interjection to attract attention): hej in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Polish

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare Slovak hej.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈxɛj/

(Lesser Poland):
- (Goral):
  - (Żywiec) IPA^(key): /ˈxɛj/

Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɛj
Syllabification: hej

Interjection

hej

hey (call for attention)
(colloquial) hi, hey (greeting)
(dialectal or, Żywiec) yeah, yep
Synonyms: ano, tak, jo

Further reading

hej in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
hej in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Izydor Kopernicki (1875), “hej”, in “Spostrzeżenia nad właściwościami językowémi w mowie Górali Bieskidowych z dodatkiem słowniczka wyrazów góralskich”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (I), volume 3, Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności, page 371

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Of exclamatory origin, similar to English hi.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɦɛj/

Interjection

hej (Cyrillic spelling хеј)

hi (greeting)
hey (exclamation, call for attention)

Slovak

Etymology

Of exclamatory origin. Compare Polish hej.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɦɛj/

Interjection

hej

(colloquial) yeah, yep
Synonym: áno

Antonym: nie
hey (exclamation)

Further reading

“hej”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

hej

Etymology

Derived from Old Norse hei, likely from Low German hei or German hei, both from Latin hei (“oh! ah!”), of natural exclamatory origin. First attested in 1541.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhɛjː/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɛj

Interjection

hej

hi, hello [since 1710]^[1]
Hej!
Hi!

Hej, vad gör du?
Hi, what are you up to?
(literally, “Hi, what do you?”)

Jag sa hej till din bror i affären igår
I said hi to your brother at the store yesterday
- 1960, Britt Lindeborg, “Hej, mitt vinterland [Hey [or "hi / hello"], my winterland]”, in Julefrid med Carola [Christmas peace / serenity with Carola]‎^[1], performed by Carola:
  Hej, mitt vinterland, nu är jag här. Nu biter frosten i min kind, ty kall är kvällen. Hej, mitt vinterland, se månen där. Den lyser kyligt trind / kring [differs between versions] på mörka himlapällen. Bjällrans klang friden stör, när vi genom skogen kör. Bofink uti grannens topp, förlåt att vi väckte dig opp. Hej, mitt vinterland, nu är jag här. Och vinter ["vintern" (definite) in some versions], håll i dig / på vinterholiday [possibly the original lyrics, then misunderstood or changed], nu blinkar stugans ljus mot mig, i mitt vita vinterland.
  Hey [or "hi / hello"], my winterland, now I am here. Now the frost bites my cheek, for the evening is cold. Hey, my winterland, look at the moon there. It shines cool and plump / coolly around ["coolly round/plump / around" – differs between versions] in the dark canopy of the sky. The sound of the [jingle] bell disturbs the peace as we ride [drive] through the forest. Chaffinch at [in] the top of the spruce, we're sorry for waking you up [sorry for that we woke you up]. Hey, my winterland, now I am here. And winter, brace yourself / on winter holiday [ad hoc], now the [Christmas, probably] lights of the cottage twinkle ["blink" – tindra (“twinkle”) is less common for electric lights in Swedish] at [toward] me, in my white winterland.
(less common) bye
Synonym: hej då

Vi syns, hej!
See you, bye!

Hej hej
Bye bye
- 2023, 31:48 from the start, in Gränsbevakarna, season 2, episode 8, spoken by customs officer:
  Varsågod. Nästa gång, kolla Tullverket, okej? Så ni inte hamnar i samma situation. Hej, hej.
  You're welcome. Next time, check with Customs, okay? So you don't end up in the same situation. Bye, bye.
An expression of intensity (in some expressions); hey
Hej vad det går!
"Hey how it (stuff, like a party) goes!"
- 1982, Gyllene Tider, “Sommartider [Summer times]”‎^[2]:
  Sommartider, hej, hej, sommartider. Ge mig din hunger, ge mig din hand. Ge mig allt du vill och allt du kan. Sommartider, hej, hej, sommartider. Läppar mot läppar som tar mig i land. Som ger sommartider till varann.
  Summer times, hey, hey, summer times. Give me your hunger, give me your hand. Give me everything that you want and everything that you can. Summer times, hey, hey, summer times. Lips against lips, that take me ashore. That give summer times to each other.
A filler, in some expressions; hey [since 1849]^[1]
Hej och hå
Hey ho
- 1970, “Kalle Teodor”, Astrid Lindgren (lyrics), Georg Riedel (music)‎^[3]:
  Men en stormnatt kan du höra nån som ropar: Hej hå! Ifrån havets djup det kommer, och det låter så: Hej hå! Hej hå!
  But on a stormy night you can hear someone calling: Hey ho! From the ocean depths ["the sea's depth(s)" – intuitively "depth," though the plural is identical – singular is idiomatic in "dras ner i djupet" (be pulled into the depths [depth]), for example] it comes, and it sounds like that: Hey ho! Hey ho! [Or "and it sounds like so," but that is an idiomatic way of saying "and it sounds like that," whereas "and it sounds like this" would normally be put as "och det låter så här." The official lyrics have a colon.]

Usage notes

The most common greeting. Neutral in tone, like English hi, hello. The corresponding farewell hej då is similarly neutral, like English bye, goodbye.
"Hey" to get someone's attention is hallå, du (used as a vocative), or colloquially öh.
Traditionally an informal greeting, in modern Swedish it is often found in formal letters or e-mails, where sometimes in English Dear Sir or Madam would be preferred.

Derived terms

hej kom och hjälp mig

See also

du (used as a vocative)
hallå ("Hey!" to get someone's attention)
hälsa (“to greet”)
hälsning
hälsningsfras
med vänliga hälsningar

Farewells

Swedish phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

For other Swedish entries on this topic, see Greetings.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 hej in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

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