hej

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See also: héj

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. hey, hi (an exclamation to call attention, not a greeting)

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. hi, hello
  2. (less common) bye

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Esperanto[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [hej]
  • Hyphenation: hej

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. (neologism, informal) hey

Greenlandic[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. hi, hello

See also[edit]

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

An onomatopoeia.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. oh!
  2. hey!

References[edit]

  1. ^ 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[edit]

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

Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Onomatopoeic. Compare Slovak hej.

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. hey (call for attention)
  2. (colloquial) hi, hey (greeting)
  3. (dialectal) yeah, yep
    Synonyms: ano, tak, jo

Further reading[edit]

  • hej in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • hej in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. hi (greeting)
  2. hey (exclamation, call for attention)

Slovak[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Compare Polish hej.

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. (colloquial) yeah, yep
    Synonym: áno
    Antonym: nie
  2. hey (exclamation)

Further reading[edit]

  • 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, 2024

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse hei.

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

hej

  1. hi, hello
    Jag sa hej till din bror i mataffären igår.
    I said hi to your brother at the super market yesterday.
  2. (less common) bye
    Synonym: hej då
    Vi syns, hej.
    See ya, bye.
    Hej hej.
    Bye bye.
  3. An expression of intensity (in some expressions); hey
    Hej vad det går!
    "Hey how it (stuff, like a party) goes!"
    • 1982, Gyllene Tider (lyrics and music), “Sommartider [Summer times]”:
      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.
  4. A filler, in some expressions; hey
    Hej och hå
    Hey ho

Usage notes[edit]

  • The most common greeting. Neutral in tone, like English hi, hello. The corresponding farewell hej då is similarly neutral, like English bye, goodbye.
  • 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[edit]

See also[edit]

See also (greetings)[edit]

See also (farewells)[edit]

References[edit]