GeezerVison

See also: helló

English

English phrasebook

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

For other English entries on this topic, see Greetings.

WOTD – 19 November 2007

Alternative forms

Etymology

First attested in 1826. From holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades.

Ultimately from a variant of Old English ēalā, such as hēlā, which was used colloquially at the time similarly to how hey and (in some dialects) hi are used nowadays. Thus, equivalent to a compound of hey and lo. Used when drawing attention to yourself.

Possibly influenced by Old Saxon halo, imperative of halōn (“to call, fetch”), used in hailing a ferryman, akin to Old High German hala, hola!, imperative forms of halōn, holōn (“to fetch”). For more information, see hallo.

The Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Dictionary also suggested that it is a variant of holla, a variant of holloo. Further beyond, the origin remains uncertain. OED and Merriam-Webster suggested that it has a connection between hallow (“to shout, to cry out loud”), which came from Old French holloer, which, according to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, is from Old Saxon halōn.

Pronunciation

enPR: hĕ-lō', hə-lō'
- (General American) IPA^(key): /hɛˈloʊ/, /hə-/, /ˈhɛloʊ/
- (UK)
  - (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /həˈləʊ/, /hɛ-/
    - Audio (UK): (file)
  - (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /haˈlaʊ/
- (Australia) IPA^(key): /həˈləʉ/
  - Audio (Australia): (file)
- (Canada) IPA^(key): /hɛˈloː/, /hə-/, /ˈhɛlo(ː)/
- (South Asia) IPA^(key): /həˈlo(w)/
Rhymes: -ɛləʊ, -əʊ
Homophone: hallow (salary–celery merger)

Sense

(greeting):

Audio (UK):

(file)

Audio (US):

(file)

(telephone greeting):

Audio (UK):

(file)

Audio (US):

(file)

(call for response):

Audio (UK):

(file)

Audio (US):

(file)

(sarcastic implication):

Audio (UK):

(file)

Audio (US):

(file)

(expressing puzzlement):

Audio (UK):

(file)

Interjection

hello

A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hello

Coordinate terms: see Thesaurus:goodbye

Hello, everyone.
A greeting used when answering the telephone.
Hello? How may I help you?
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
  Hello. This is Marsha. ― Yes, Marsha.
A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.
Hello? Is anyone there?
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
  I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.
(colloquial) Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious.
You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?
- 1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Dionne Davenport (Stacey Dash), spoken by Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone):
  Dionne: Hello? There was a stop sign.
  Cher: I totally paused.
- 2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Rogueport:
  Uh, hello? We're using a CANNON to get to the moon? Isn't that, like, dangerous?
(chiefly UK) An expression of puzzlement or discovery.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wow

Hello! What’s going on here?

Usage notes

The greeting hello is among the most universal and neutral in use. It may be heard in nearly all social situations and nearly all walks of life and is unlikely to offend.

In the derived senses, the word-final stress may be emphasized to focus attention, but word-initial stress is also heard in certain contexts, such as some uses of hello there, and even in isolation.

Derived terms

Descendants

→ Arabic:
- → Iraqi Arabic: هلو (halaw)
→ Armenian: հէլօ (hēlō)
→ Amharic: ሀሎ (halo)
→ Bengali: হ্যালো (hêlō)
→ French: hello
→ Chinese: 哈嘍 / 哈喽 (hālou), 哈囉 / 哈啰 (hāluó), 哈佬 (hālǎo), 哈咯 (hālo), ciallo
→ Hindi: हेलो (helo)
→ Japanese: ハロー (harō)
→ Malay: helo
→ Scottish Gaelic: halò
→ Welsh: helo

Translations

greeting

Abaza: сальам (salᶻam)
Abkhaz: бзиа збаша (bzja zbaŝa), мыш бзи (məŝ bzi), (to a man) бзиара убааит (bzjara ubaajtʼ), (to a woman) бзиара ббааит (bzjara bbaajtʼ), (to more than one person) бзиара жәбааит pl (bzjara ẑʷbaajtʼ)
Afrikaans: hallo (af), goeiedag
Ahom: 𑜈𑜩𑜨 𑜀𑜪𑜨 (bayo kaṃo)
Ainu: イランカラㇷ゚テ (irankarapte)
Akan: maakye (morning), maaha (afternoon), maadwo (evening)
Albanian: përshëndetje (sq), tungjatjeta (sq), tung (informal), ç'kemi m or f
Arbëresh Albanian: falem (aae)
Aleut: aang, draas
Altai:
Southern Altai: эзен (ezen), селем (selem)
Alutiiq: cama’i
Ambonese Malay: wai
American Sign Language: B@Sfhead-PalmForward B@FromSfhead-PalmForward
Amharic: ሰላም (sälam)
Antillean Creole: bonjou
Apache:
Jicarilla: dá nzhǫ́

Western Apache: dagotʼee, daʼanzho, yaʼateh
Arabic: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ (ar) (as-salāmu ʕalaykum), سَلَام (ar) (salām), مَرْحَبًا (ar) (marḥaban), أَهْلًا (ar) (ʔahlan)
Egyptian Arabic: اهلاً (ahlan)

Hijazi Arabic: مَرحَبا (marḥaba), هلا (hala), السلام عليكم (as-salāmu ʕalēkum), أهلًا (ʔahlan)

Iraqi Arabic: هلو (helaww)
Aramaic: שְׁלָמָא
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܫܠܵܡܵܐ (šlāmā), ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܘܼܟ݂ (šlāmā ˁalōḵ) (formal; to a male), ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܟ݂ܝ (šlāmā ˁallāḵ) (formal; to a female), ܫܠܵܡܵܐ ܥܲܠܵܘܟ݂ܘܿܢ (šlāmā ˁallāwḵōn) (formal; to a group)
Archi: салам алейкум (salam alejkum), варчӏами (warčʼami)
Armenian: բարև (hy) (barew) (addressed to a single familiar person), բարև ձեզ (barew jez) (addressed to several people), բարև Ձեզ (barew Jez) (formal, addressed to a single unfamiliar person), ողջույն (hy) (oġǰuyn)
Assamese: নমস্কাৰ (nomoskar) (very formal), আচ্চেলামো আলাইকোম (asselamü alaiküm) (formal, used among Muslims), হেল’ (helö)
Asturian: hola (ast)
Azerbaijani: salam (az), səlam (South Azerbaijani), hər vaxtınız xeyir olsun, hər vaxtınız xeyir, günaydın, xoş gördük, əssəlamü əleyküm
Bambara: i ni ce
Barbareño: haku
Bashkir: сәләм (säläm)
Basque: kaixo (eu)
Bats: please add this translation if you can
Belarusian: віта́ю (vitáju), здаро́ў (zdarów) (colloquial), прыве́т (pryvjét), до́бры дзень (dóbry dzjenʹ) (good day)
Bengali: আসসালামু আলাইকুম (bn) (assalamu alaikum), সালাম (bn) (salam), নমস্কার (bn) (nomoskar), হ্যালো (bn) (hêlō)
Bhojpuri: प्रणाम (praṇām)
Bouyei: mengz ndil
Breton: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: здра́сти (bg) (zdrásti) (familiar), здраве́й (bg) sg (zdravéj) (familiar), здраве́йте (bg) pl (zdravéjte) (formal)
Burmese: မင်္ဂလာပါ (my) (mangga.lapa) , ဟဲလို (my) (hai:lui)
Carpathian Rusyn: наздар (nazdar)
Catalan: hola (ca)
Cayuga: sgę́꞉nǫʼ
Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵣⵓⵍ (azul)
Chamorro: håfa adai
Chechen: маршалла ду хьоьга (maršalla du ḥʳöga) (to one person), маршалла ду шуьга (maršalla du šüga) (to a group of people), ассаламу ӏалайкум (assalamu ˀalajkum)
Cherokee: ᎣᏏᏲ (chr) (osiyo)
Chichewa: moni
Chickasaw: chokma
Chinese:
Cantonese: 你好 (nei⁵ hou²), 哈佬 (haa¹ lou²)

Dungan: ни хо (ni ho), сэляму (seliamu), хома (homa)

Eastern Min: 汝好 (nṳ̄ hō̤)

Hakka: 你好 (ngì-hó)

Hokkien: 汝好 (lí hó)

Mandarin: 你好 (zh) (nǐ hǎo), 您好 (zh) (nín hǎo) (polite), 你們好 / 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo) (to a group of people), 好 (zh) (hǎo) (following an address form or name), 嗨 (zh) (hāi), 哈囉 / 哈啰 (zh) (hāluó), ciallo (slang)

Wu: 儂好 / 侬好 (⁶non ⁵hau)

Xiang: please add this translation if you can
Choctaw: halito
Chukchi: еттык (ettyk) (formal), ети (eti) (informal), етти (etti) (informal)
Circassian:
East Circassian: уузыншэм (wuwuzənšɛm)

West Circassian: please add this translation if you can
Coptic: ⲛⲟϥⲣⲓ (nofri)
Cornish: dydh da
Corsican: bonghjornu
Cree:
Plains Cree: tânisi
Crimean Tatar:
Cyrillic: Мераба (Meraba)

Latin: Meraba
Czech: ahoj (cs), nazdar (cs) (informal), čau (cs) (informal), dobrý den (cs) (formal)
Danish: hej (da), dav (da), god dag (formal), hallo (da), halløj (informal)
Dhivehi: އައްސަލާމު ޢަލައިކުމް (assalāmu ʿalaikum̊)
Dutch: hallo (nl), hoi (nl), hai (nl), hé (nl), dag (nl) (informal), goeiedag (nl), goededag (nl), goedendag (nl), goeiendag (nl) (formal)
Erzya: шумбра чи (šumbra či), шумбра ульть (šumbra ulť), эрят (eŕat)
Esperanto: saluton (eo)
Estonian: tere (et), tervist (et), hei (et), tsau (et)
Faroese: hey, halló, góðan dag
Fijian: bula (fj)
Finnish: terve (fi), moi (fi), hei (fi), moikka (fi), tsau (fi)
Fox: ahô
French: bonjour (fr), salut (fr) (informal), coucou (fr)(informal)
Frisian:
West Frisian: hallo, hoi
Friulian: mandi
Fula: mihofnima
Galician: ola (gl), oula, ouga
Georgian: გამარჯობა (ka) (gamarǯoba), ჰეი (hei)
German: hallo (de), guten Tag (de), servus (de), moin (de), grüß Gott (de) (Southern German, Austria), Tag (de) (shortened form of guten Tag)
Alemannic German: grüezi, sälü (informal), sali (informal), hoi (informal), hello (informal)

Bavarian: servus, grias di, pfiati (Timau)
Gilbertese: mauri
Gothic: 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐍃 (hails), 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌰 (haila)
Greek: γεια (el) (geia), γεια σου (el) sg (geia sou), γεια σας pl (geia sas), χαίρε (el) sg (chaíre) (formal, archaic), χαίρετε (el) pl (chaírete) (formal, archaic)
Ancient Greek: χαῖρε sg (khaîre), χαίρετε pl (khaírete), χαῖρε καί ὑγίαινε sg (khaîre kaí hugíaine)
Greenlandic: aluu (kl)
Guarani:
Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} maitei (gn)
Guianese Creole: bonjou
Gujarati: નમસ્તે (namaste), નમસ્કાર (namaskār)
Haitian Creole: bonjou
Hausa: sannu
Hawaiian: aloha
Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם (he) (shalóm), שָׁלוֹם עָלֵיכֶם (he) (shalóm 'aleikhém)
Hindi: नमस्ते (hi) (namaste), नमस्कार (hi) (namaskār) (used among Hindus), सलाम (hi) (salām) (used among Muslims), सत श्री अकाल (sat śrī akāl) (Sikh, hello/goodbye), हेलो (hi) (helo), हलो (halo), सत्य (hi) (satya), आदाब (hi) (ādāb)
Hmong:
Green Hmong: nyob zoo

White Hmong: nyob zoo
Hungarian: szia (hu), sziasztok (hu) pl (informal), szervusz (hu), szervusztok (hu) pl (somewhat formal), heló (hu), helló (hu) (informal), jó napot (hu), jó napot kívánok (hu) (formal), üdvözlöm (hu)
Icelandic: halló (is), hæ (is), góðan dag (is), góðan daginn (is)
Ido: hola (io)
Igbo: kèdu
Indonesian: hai (id), salam (id)
Ingrian: tere, draastui
Interlingua: bon die, salute (ia)
Ipai: haawka
Iquito: juu
Irish: Dia dhuit (formal, singular), Dia dhaoibh (formal, plural), Dia's Muire dhuit (formal, singular, response), Dia's Muire dhaoibh (formal, plural, response)
Isan: please add this translation if you can
Italian: ciao (it), salve (it), buongiorno (it), saluti (it) m pl
Iu Mien: yiem longx nyei
Jamaican Creole: ello, wah gwaan
Japanese: おはよう (ja) (ohayō), おはようございます (ja) (ohayō gozaimasu) (morning), 今日は (ja) (konnichi wa) (daytime), 今晩は (ja) (konban wa) (evening)
Javanese: halo (jv)
Jeju: 반갑수다 (ban-gapsuda), 펜안ᄒᆞ우꽈 (pen-anhawukkwa), 펜안 (pen-an)
Judeo-Tat: шолум (şolum)
Kabyle: azul
Kalmyk: мендвт (mendvt), менд (mend) (informal)
Kannada: ತುಳಿಲು (kn) (tuḷilu), ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ (kn) (namaskāra)
Karachay-Balkar: кюнюгюз ашхы болсун (künügüz aşxı bolsun), ассаламу алейкум (assalamu aleykum)
Karelian: terveh, hei
Karen:
Pa'o Karen: ခွဲးဟဝ်ဒျာႏ (blk), မင်္ဂလာႏဒျာႏ(colloquial)
Kashmiri: please add this translation if you can
Kazakh: сәлем (sälem) (informal), сәлеметсіздер (sälemetsizder) (formal)
Khmer: ជម្រាបសួរ (cumriəp suə), សួស្តី (suəsdəy)
Khün: please add this translation if you can
Komi:
Komi-Permyak: Видза оланныд (Vidźa olannyd)

Komi-Zyrian: видза оланныд (vidźa olannyd)
Korean: 안녕하십니까 (annyeonghasimnikka) (formal), 안녕하세요 (ko) (annyeonghaseyo) (neutrally formal), 안녕(安寧) (ko) (annyeong) (informal)
Krio: kushɛ
Kumeyaay: haawka
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: merheba (ku), silav (ku), selam (ku)
Kyrgyz: саламатсыздарбы (salamatsızdarbı), салам (ky) (salam)
Ladino: shalom, saludos, bonjur
Lak: салам (salam)
Lakota: háu
Lao: ສະບາຍດີ (lo) (sa bāi dī)
Latin: salvē (la) sg, salvēte (la) pl; avē (la) sg, avēte pl
Latvian: sveiki (informal to more than one person or people of indeterminate gender), sveiks (lv) (to a man), sveika (to a woman), čau (lv) (informal)
Laz: გეგაჯგინას (gegacginas)
Lezgi: салам (salam)
Lithuanian: labas (lt), sveikas (lt) (informal), sveiki (lt) (formal)
Livonian: tēriņtš
Low German:
Low German: moi, moin, hoi, hai, hee (nds), hallo, gode(n) dag, ge(n)dag
Lü: ᦍᦲᧃᦡᦲ (yiinḋii)
Luo: msawa
Luxembourgish: hallo
Maasai: sopa (to one person), entasupa (to a group)
Macedonian: здраво (zdravo)
Malagasy: manao ahoana?, salama (mg) (Tsimihety)
Malay: helo (ms), apa khabar (ms), salam (ms)
Malayalam: ഹലോ (ml) (halō), നമസ്തേ (ml) (namastē), നമസ്കാരം (ml) (namaskāraṁ)
Maltese: bonġu (mt) (before noon), bonswa (after noon), nsellimlek (formal one to one person), nsellmilkom (formal one to more than one person), nsellmulek (formal more than one person to one person), nsellmulkom (formal more than one person to more than one persons), ħelow
Manchu: ᠰᠠᡳᠶᡡᠨ (saiyūn)
Māori: kia ora (mi) (informal), tēnā koe (formal to one person), tēnā kōrua (formal to two people), tēnā koutou (formal to three or more people)
Marshallese: io̧kwe, yokwe
Mapudungun: mari mari
Maranungku: yo
Marathi: नमस्कार (mr) (namaskār)
Michif: tánishi, boñjour
Mingrelian: გომორძგუა (gomorʒgua)
Mohawk: sekoh
Mon: မ္ၚဵုရအဴ (mnw)
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: сайн уу? (mn) (sain uu?) (informal), сайн байна уу? (mn) (sain baina uu?), сайн байцгаана уу? (sain baicgaana uu?) (plural)
Mopan Maya: dʼyoos
Naga:
Khiamniungan Naga: hǖhêi
Nahuatl: niltze (nah), panoltih
Navajo: yáʼátʼééh
Neapolitan: uè
Nepali: नमस्ते (ne) (namaste), नमस्कार (ne) (namaskār)
Norman: baon-n-jour (Guernsey), banjour (Guernsey), boujouo (continental Normandy), bouônjour (Jersey), bwõju (Sark)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hallo (no), hei (no), god dag (no) (formal), halla (no) (informal), heisann
Nuosu: please add this translation if you can
Nǀuu: ǃhonkia, ǃʻhûua (Western), nǃʻhonga (Eastern), ǃʻhoangkia, ǃʻhoengkia, ǃʻhûuuwe (Western), nǃʻhongowe (Eastern), ǃʻhoangkica ("hello over there"), ǃʻhoangkiki ("hello there"), ǃʻhuqungkia
Occitan: bonjorn (oc), adieu-siatz (formal "you"), adieu-siás (informal "you")
Odia: ନମସ୍କାର (or) (namaskāra)
Ojibwe: boozhoo
Okinawan: はいさい m (haisai), はいたい f (haitai), はい n (hai)
Old English: wes hāl
Oromo: akkam
Ossetian: салам (salam), байрай (bajraj), арфӕ (arfæ)
Palauan: alii
Pannonian Rusyn: здраво (zdravo)
Pashto: سلام (ps) (salām), سلام الېک (slāmālék), السلام عليکم (as-salám alaykúm)
Persian:
Classical Persian: سَلَام (salām), سَلَام عَلَیْکُم (salām alaykum), دُرود (durōd), دَرُود (darūd), دَرُود (darūd)

Dari: سَلَام (salām), سَلَام عَلَیْکُم (salām alaykum) (formal), دُرُود (durūd), دَرُود (darūd)

Iranian Persian: سَلام (salâm), سَلام عَلِیْکُم (salâm aleykom) (religious), دُرود (dorud) (literary)
Picard: bojour
Pitcairn-Norfolk: watawieh
Polish: cześć (pl) (informal), witaj (pl), witajcie, witam (pl) (more formal), dzień dobry (pl) (formal), siema (pl) (informal), czołem (pl), halo (pl) (on phone), serwus (pl) (colloquial), cześka (colloquial), siemanero (colloquial), hej (pl), cze, elo (pl)
Portuguese: oi (pt), olá (pt), (slang) e aí? (pt)
Potawatomi: bozho
Punjabi: ਸਤਿ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ (sati śrī akāl)
Purisimeño: haku
Rapa Nui: 'iorana
Romani: te aves baxtalo (to a male), te aves baxtali (to a female), te aven baxtale (to two or more people)
Romanian: salut (ro), bună (ro), noroc (ro) (informal), bună ziua (formal), servus (ro)
Russian: приве́т (ru) (privét) (informal), здоро́во (ru) (zdoróvo) (colloquial), здра́вствуйте (ru) (zdrávstvujte) (formal, first "в" is silent), до́брый день (ru) (dóbryj denʹ), здра́вствуй (ru) (zdrávstvuj) (informal, first "в" is silent), салю́т (ru) (saljút)
Rwanda-Rundi:
Kinyarwanda: muraho
Samburu: supa (generic, to an equal or subordinate), entaa supa pl (from a male to a group of males), eserian pl (to a group including females), oyie (generic reply), ^{(please verify)} kejua
Sami:
Inari Sami: tiervâ

Northern Sami: dearvva, būres

Skolt Sami: tiõrv

Southern Sami: buaregh
Samoan: talofa
Sanskrit: नमस्कार (sa) (namaskāra), नमस्ते (namaste), नमो नमः (namo namaḥ) (formal)
Santali: ᱡᱚᱦᱟᱨ (sat) (jo̠har)
Scots: hullo
Scottish Gaelic: shin thu (informal), sin sibh (formal), halò
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: здра̏во, ћа̑о, ме̏рха̄ба, селам, бог, бок

Latin: zdrȁvo (sh), ćȃo, mȅrhāba, selam (sh), bog, bok (sh)
Sesotho: lumela
Shan: မႂ်ႇသုင် (shn) (màue sǔng)
Shawnee: hatito
Shona: mhoro
Sicilian: ciao, salutamu, s'abbinidica
Sindhi: هيلو (elo)
Sinhalese: හලෝ (halō), ආයුබෝවන් (si) (āyubōwan)
Situ: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: ahoj (sk), nazdar (informal), servus (sk) (informal), dobrý deň (formal)
Slovene: žívjo, zdrávo (informal), dóber dán, pozdravljeni (formal)
Somali: ma nabad baa, waa nabad
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: dobry źeń

Upper Sorbian: dobry dźeń
Sotho: dumela (st)
Spanish: hola (es), (familiar) holi (es), holis (es)
Subanen:
Lapuyan Subanun: getaw
Sundanese: halo, sampurasun (su), sampurasun (su)
Svan: ხოჩა ლადა̈ღ (xoča ladäɣ)
Swahili: jambo (sw), salaam
Swedish: hallå (sv), hej (sv), god dag (sv) (formal), tjena (sv), hejsan (sv) (informal), tja (sv)
Tagalog: kamusta (tl)/kumusta (tl), musta (tl) (slang), hoy (tl), huy, oy/oi (tl) (informal), uy/ui (informal)
Tajik: салом (salom)
Tamil: வணக்கம் (ta) (vaṇakkam)
Tangsa: äshazhoix
Tatar: сәлам (tt) (sälam)
Telugu: నమసకారం (namasakāraṁ), బాగున్నారా (bāgunnārā)
Tetum: elo, olá
Thai: สวัสดี (th) (sà-wàt-dii), สวัสดีครับ (male speaker), สวัสดีค่ะ (female speaker), หวัดดี (wàt-dii)
Northern Thai: สบายดีก่อ

Southern Thai: please add this translation if you can
Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས (bkra shis bde legs)
Tigrinya: ሰላም (sälam)
Tipai: awka
Tongan: mālō e lelei
Tswana: dumela (tn) (singular, as in dumela, rra, "hello sir"), dumelang (tn) (plural, as in dumelang, borra, "hello gentlemen")
Turkish: merhaba (tr), selam (tr), esenlikler
Ottoman Turkish: مرحبا (merhaba), سلام (selam)
Turkmen: salam, gowmy? sg, gowmyň pl, gurgunmy
Tuvan: экии (ekii)
Udmurt: ӟечбур (dźećbur), ӟеч (dźeć), чырткем (ćyrtkem), умой (umoj)
Ukrainian: приві́т (uk) (pryvít) (informal), здоро́в був (uk) (zdoróv buv) (informal), добри́день (uk) (dobrýdenʹ) (neutral or formal), чоло́м (čolóm), се́рвус (sérvus), здра́стуйте (zdrástujte), здра́стуй (zdrástuj)
Ulithian: adiyoos
Urdu: سَلام عَلَیکُم (salām 'alaikum), اَلسَّلامُ عَلَیکُم (as-salāmu 'alaikum), اَلسَّلامُ عَلَیکُم وَرَحْمَۃُاللہ وَبَرَکَاتُہ (as-salāmu 'alaikum va-rahmatu-llāh, literally “Peace be upon you & May Allah bless”), آداب (ur) (ādāb)
Uyghur: سالام (salam)
Uzbek: salom (uz)
Venetan: ciao (vec)
Ventureño: haku
Vietnamese: xin chào (vi), chào (vi)
Volapük: glidis
Walloon: bondjoû (wa), a (wa), diewåde (wa) (old)
Welsh: helo (cy), bore da (good morning), dydd da (good day), hylo
Winnebago: haho (male speaker), hą (female speaker), hinįkaraginʼ
Xhosa: molo sg, molweni pl
Xibe: ᠪᠠᡳᡨᠠᡴᡡ
ᠨᠠ (baitakū na)
Yakut: эҕэрдэ (eğerde), дорообо (doroobo) (informal)
Yiddish: שלום־עליכם (sholem-aleykhem), אַ גוטן (yi) (a gutn), גוט־מאָרגן (yi) (gut-morgn)
Yoruba: ẹ pẹ̀lẹ́ (polite), pẹ̀lẹ́ (non-polite)
Yup'ik: waqaa, cama-i
Zapotec:
Isthmus Zapotec: ola
Zazaki: sılam, namaste
Zhuang: mwngz ndei
Zulu: sawubona (zu) (familiar), sanibonani (plural, respectful)

when answering the telephone

Afrikaans: hallo (af)
Albanian: alo (sq)
Arabic: آلُو (ʔālū), آلُو (ʔālū), أَلُو (ar) (ʔalū), أَلُو (ar) (ʔalū)
Gulf Arabic: اَلُو (alū)

Hijazi Arabic: ألو (ʔalu)
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܲܠܘܼ (alū)
Armenian: ալլո (hy) (allo)
Assamese: হেল’ (helö)
Azerbaijani: alo
Bashkir: алло (allo)
Belarusian: алё (aljó)
Bengali: হ্যালো (bn) (hêlō)
Bulgarian: а́ло (álo)
Burmese: အမိန့်ရှိပါ (my) (a.min.hri.pa)
Catalan: digui (ca), si (ca), hola (ca), mani'm
Chinese:
Cantonese: 喂 (wai², wei²)

Hakka: 摩西摩西 (mò-si-mo-sí), 噯 / 嗳 (ói)

Hokkien: 喂 (zh-min-nan) (oeh)

Mandarin: 喂 (zh) (wéi)

Wu: 喂 (⁵ue)
Czech: haló (cs)
Danish: hallo (da)
Dutch: met (nl) (literally “with”) (followed by name), tot (nl) (literally “to”) (followed by name; Suriname), hallo (nl) (rare on landlines, now chiefly for unknown caller IDs on mobile phones)
Esperanto: halo (eo)
Estonian: hallo (et), halloo (et)
Finnish: haloo (fi)
French: allô (fr)
Frisian:
West Frisian: hallo
Galician: diga (gl)
Georgian: ალო (alo), გისმენთ (gisment)
German: hallo (de)
Greek: εμπρός (el) (emprós), παρακαλώ (el) (parakaló), ναι; (el) (nai?)
Hawaiian: ō
Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם? (he) (shalóm?), הָלוֹ? (haló?)
Hindi: हलो (halo), हैलो (hailo), हेलो (hi) (helo)
Hungarian: halló (hu)
Icelandic: halló (is), hæ (is), hæ hæ, góðan dag (is), góðan daginn (is)
Indonesian: halo (id)
Interlingua: hallo
Ipai: haawka
Irish: haileo
Italian: pronto (it)
Jamaican Creole: ello
Japanese: もしもし (ja) (moshimoshi)
Kazakh: алло (allo), бар ма (bar ma), уей (wey)
Khmer: អាឡូ (ʼaalou), អល្លោ (ʼallou)
Korean: 여보세요 (ko) (yeoboseyo)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: elo (ku), helo (ku)
Kyrgyz: алло (ky) (allo)
Lao: ອາໂຫຼ (ʼā lō), ອາໂຫລ (ʼā lō)
Latvian: hallo
Lithuanian: alio (lt), klausau (lt)
Macedonian: ало (alo)
Malagasy: alô (mg)
Malay: helo (ms)
Maltese: ħellow
Marathi: हॅलो (hĕlo)
Mari:
Eastern Mari: алло (allo)
Naga:
Khiamniungan Naga: hǖhêi
Nepali: हेलो (ne) (helo), हलो (ne) (halo)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hallo (no)
Odia: ହ୍ୟାଲୋ (hyālo)
Persian:
Dari: هَلو (halō)

Iranian Persian: اَلو (alo)
Polish: halo (pl), słucham
Portuguese: alô (pt), estou (pt)
Romani: àlo
Romanian: alo (ro), haló
Russian: алло́ (ru) (alló), (colloquial) алё (ru) (aljó), слу́шаю (ru) (slúšaju)
Scottish Gaelic: halò
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ха̀ло, молим, изволите

Latin: hàlo (sh), molim (sh), izvolite (sh)
Sicilian: prontu (scn), prontu, cu' è?
Slovak: haló, prosím
Slovene: haló?, prosim (sl)
Spanish: aló (es) (Latin America), bueno (es) (Mexico), diga (es) (Spain), dígame (es) (Spain), hola (es) (Argentina, Uruguay), oigo (es) (Cuba), ¿sí? (es) (Spain)
Swedish: hallå (sv), hej (sv), god dag (sv) (formal)
Tagalog: helo?, magandang araw po!
Tajik: алло (tg) (allo), ҳа (tg) (ha), лаббай (labbay)
Thai: สวัสดีครับ, สวัสดีค่ะ (formal), ฮัลโหล (han-lǒo) (informal), แฮลโล
Tongan: mālō e lelei
Turkish: alo (tr), efendim (tr)
Turkmen: allo
Ukrainian: алло́ (uk) (alló), слу́хаю (uk) (slúxaju)
Urdu: ہَیلو (hailo), ہیلو (helo), ہَلو (halo)
Uyghur: ياخشىمۇسىز (yaxshimusiz), ئەسسالامۇ ئەلەيكۇم (essalamu eleykum)
Uzbek: allo (uz)
Vietnamese: a-lô (vi)
Welsh: helo (cy)
Zazaki: elo

is anyone there?

Afrikaans: Is daar iemand?
Arabic: هَل مِن أَحَدٍ هُنَا؟ (hal min ʔaḥadin hunā?)
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܲܠܘܼ؟ ܚܲܕ݇ ܝܠܹܗ ܬܵܡܵܐ؟ (alū? ḥa ìlēh tāmā?)
Armenian: աու (au)
Assamese: কোনোবা আছেনে? (künüba asene?), হেল’ (helö)
Azerbaijani: kimsə var?
Belarusian: гэй (hej)
Bengali: ওহে (bn) (ōhe)
Bulgarian: ехо? (bg) (eho?)
Catalan: hola? (ca), na maria?
Chinese:
Cantonese: 喂 (wai³)

Hokkien: 有儂無？ / 有侬无？ (ū lâng bô)

Mandarin: 有人嗎？ / 有人吗？ (yǒu rén ma?)
Czech: haló (cs)
Danish: hallo (da)
Dutch: hallo? (nl)
Esperanto: hola
Estonian: halloo? (et)
Finnish: huhuu? (fi), haloo?
French: eh oh ?, oh eh ?, allô ? (fr), ohé ! (fr)
German: hallo? (de), jemand da?
Hebrew: שלום? מישהו שם? (shalóm?, mísheu shám?)
Hungarian: hahó (hu)
Icelandic: halló? (is)
Interlingua: hallo?
Italian: c'è nessuno? (literally “there is no one here?”), c'è qualcuno?
Japanese: おーい (ōi) (formal and informal), すみませーん (sumimasēn) (formal), ちょっと (ja) (chotto) (informal), (on the phone) もしもし (ja) (moshimoshi)
Korean: 계세요? (gyeseyo?) (formal)
Lithuanian: sveiki (lt)
Macedonian: ало́ (aló)
Malay: helo (ms)
Maltese: hawn xi ħadd?
Nepali: को छ त्यहाँ (ko cha tyahā̃), को हो त्यहाँ? (ko ho tyahā̃?)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hallo? (no)

Nynorsk: hallo?
Odia: ନମସ୍କାର (or) (namaskāra)
Polish: halo? (pl), jest tu kto?
Portuguese: olá? (pt)
Romanian: alo? (ro), haló?
Russian: ау́ (ru) (aú), е́сть кто́-нибудь? (jéstʹ któ-nibudʹ?)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ха̀ло

Latin: hàlo (sh)
Slovak: haló
Slovene: haló?
Spanish: ¿aló? (es), ¡Hola! ¿Hay alguien? (Latin America)
Swedish: hallå (sv)
Tagalog: tao po?!, sino po nandyan? (tl)
Tatar: әй (äy), кем булса да бармы? (kem bulsa da barmı?)
Telugu: ఎవరైనా ఉంది (evarainā undi)
Thai: มีใครอยู่ไหม? (mii krai yùu mǎi?)
Turkish: orda kimse var mı?, kimse yok mu?
Ukrainian: аго́в (uk) (ahóv)
Urdu: کوئی ہے؟ (ko͞i hai?)
Vietnamese: ơi (vi)
Welsh: helo? (cy)
Zazaki: hımın m du, kam esto

sarcastic: that was foolish

Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܲܠܘܼ (alū)
Bulgarian: ало (alo)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 喂 (zh) (wèi)
Danish: hallo! (da), hey! (da)
Dutch: ja, hallo!
Estonian: halloo! (et), tere hommikust! (et), tere tali!
Finnish: haloo! (fi)
French: ho (fr)
German: hallo! (de), halloho!
Hebrew: הלו (hálo)
Hungarian: jól vagy?, magad nál vagy?, ész nél vagy?, esz ed nél vagy?, normális vagy? (rude)
Icelandic: halló! (is)
Italian: ciao (it)
Japanese: やれやれ (ja) (yareyare) (formal and informal), やれやれだぜ (yareyare daze) (informal), 大丈夫？ (daijōbu?) (formal and informal), 大丈夫かよ (daijōbu kayo?) (more informal), マジ？ (maji?) (informal), マジかよ？ (maji kayo?) (more informal)
Macedonian: алооо? (alooo?)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hallo (no)

Nynorsk: hallo
Portuguese: acorda (pt), alô (pt)
Romanian: aloo
Russian: здра́сте (ru) (zdráste), здра́сте Но́вый Го́д (zdráste Nóvyj Gód)
Slovene: haló!
Swedish: men hallå, hallå där
Tagalog: hoy! (tl), huy!, oy!/oi! (tl), uy!/ui!
Vietnamese: này! (vi)

expression of puzzlement

Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Aramaic:
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܲܠܘܼ (alū)
Belarusian: але́ (be) (aljé)
Bulgarian: моля (bg) (molja)
Catalan: conill! (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Danish: hallo? (da)
Dutch: hallo! (nl)
Finnish: oho (fi)
French: ouah (fr)
Frisian:
West Frisian: hallo!
German: hallo (de)
Hebrew: הלו (hálo)
Hindi: [script needed] (kya)
Icelandic: halló (is)
Japanese: 本当？ (ja) (hontō) (Sure?, formal), 冗談だろ？ (jōdan daro) (You are joking, formal and informal), 大丈夫？ (ja) (daijōbu?) (Are you all right?, formal and informal), 大丈夫かよ？ (daijōbu kayo?) (Are you all right?, more informal), マジ？ (ja) (maji?) (Are you sure?, You're kidding!, informal), マジかよ (maji kayo?) (Are you sure?, You're kidding!, more informal)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hei (no)

Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can
Portuguese: o que, oi? (pt)
Romanian: ia uite
Slovene: hêj!
Swedish: men hallå
Tagalog: uy?!/ui?!, huy?!, oy?!/oi?! (tl), hoy?! (tl)
Vietnamese: ôi trời!
Zazaki: merhebaa, way (diq)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Fijian: ^{(please verify)} bula (fj)
Irish: ^{(please verify)} haló
Nahuatl: ^{(please verify)} niltze (nah)
Nepali: ^{(please verify)} नमस्कार (ne) (namaskār)
Tatar: ^{(please verify)} isänme(sez)!, ^{(please verify)} sälâm! (1), ^{(please verify)} allo, ^{(please verify)} hallow (2)
Urdu: ^{(please verify)} آداب (ur) (ādāb), ^{(please verify)} السلام علیکم (āssālam ‘alaykum)
Vietnamese: chào (vi) (ông (vi), bà (vi), cô (vi), anh (vi), chị (vi), em (vi), quí vị)
Woiwurrung: ^{(please verify)} gudjinna, ^{(please verify)} wawa

Noun

hello (plural hellos or helloes)

"Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.
Synonym: greeting

They gave each other a quick hello when they met, and went back on their merry ways.
- 2007 April 29, Stephanie Rosenbloom, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 November 2024:
  In many new buildings, though, neighbors are venturing beyond tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox.

Verb

hello (third-person singular simple present hellos or helloes, present participle helloing, simple past and past participle helloed)

(transitive) To greet (someone) with "hello".
- 1891, Records and Briefs in Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Minnesota, page 227:
  She is there guarding and looking after the candy and the children generally, and she helloes and renders an exclamation that Maidie is crossing the street.
- 1927, Ohio State Engineer, page 18:
  He helloes to my daughter: […]
- 2012, Mark Dolan, Do You Mind if I Put My Hand on it?: Journeys into the Worlds of the Weird, HarperCollins, →ISBN:
  ‘Hello Minka! Great to meet you!’ Minka seems nonplussed at what I thought was an uncontroversial opening remark. There’s an awkward pause. She then helloes me back. But that’s all I get.
- 2013, Ivan Doig, English Creek, page 139:
  I had to traipse around somewhat, helloing people and being helloed, before I spotted my mother and my father, sharing shade and a spread blanket with Pete and Marie Reese and Toussaint Rennie near the back of the park.

Anagrams

Holle

French

Etymology

From English hello.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛ.lo/ ~ /e.lo/, /hɛ.lo/ ~ /he.lo/
- Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)

Interjection

hello

(anglicism) hello, hi

Fula

Etymology

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

Noun

hello ngo (plural hellooji ɗi)

a page
one side of a wall, a wall
a slap in the face

References

Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014.

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=hello&oldid=95307852"

GeezerVison

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Usage notes

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Noun

Verb

See also

Anagrams

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Further reading

Fula

Etymology

Noun

References