was wotd|2007|November|19
wikipedia
English
Etymology
Hello (first attested in 1846) < hallo (attested 1840) < holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to w:Thomas Edison|Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades.
Possible from the OHG. & OS. verb term|halôn, holôn "to bring something, to gather", akin to E. term|hale or term|hail.
Pronunciation
a|UK IPA|/h��l��/, /h��l��/, SAMPA|/h@"l@U/
a|US enPR|h�-l�' or h�-l�', IPA|/h��lo�/|/h��lo�/, SAMPA|/hE"loU/ or /h@"loU/
- sense|greeting audio|en-uk-hello-1.ogg|Audio (UK), audio|en-us-hello.ogg|Audio (US)
- sense|telephone greeting audio|en-uk-hello-2.ogg|Audio (UK), audio|en-us-hello-2.ogg|Audio (US)
- sense|call for response audio|en-uk-hello-3.ogg|Audio (UK), audio|en-us-hello-3.ogg|Audio (US)
- sense|sarcastic implication audio|en-uk-hello-4.ogg|Audio (UK), audio|en-us-hello-4.ogg|Audio (US)
- sense|expressing puzzlement audio|en-uk-hello-5.ogg|Audio (UK)
rhymes|��
Interjection
en-intj
- A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledge|acknowledging someone�s arrival or presence.
#: Hello, everyone.
- A greeting used when answering the telephone.
#: Hello? How may I help you?
- 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?
- colloquial Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed or referred to has done something the speaker or writer considers to be foolish.
#: You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?
- An expression of puzzlement or discovery.
#: Hello? What�s going on here?
Usage notes
The greeting hello is among the most generic and neutral in use. It may be heard in nearly all social situations and in nearly all walks of life, and is unlikely to cause offense.
In some languages the expression for hello is not a mere greeting but also includes a notion of well-wishing. For example, the Urdu greeting ur-Arab|ا�س�ا� ع��ک� (�ss�lam �alaykum) means May peace be upon you.
Quotations
seeCites
Synonyms
(greeting)
italbrac|AU, informal g'day
italbrac|US, UK, informal hallo, hey, hi, howdy
italbrac|SA, informal howzit
italbrac|slang wassup, what's up, yo, sup
Antonyms
sense|greeting bye, goodbye
Translations
trans-top|greeting
Afrikaans: hallo
Albanian: tungjatjeta
Aleut: aang
Arabic: ARchar|Ù�رØبا|Ù�رØبÙ�ا (marħában)
Armenian: Õ¢Õ¡Ö�Ö� (barev), Õ¸Õ²Õ»Õ¸Ö�ÕµÕ¶ unicode|(oghÇ°uyn)
Asturian: hola
Basque: kaixo
Bengali: নমস��ার (nomoskar)
Bosnian: zdravo#Bosnian|zdravo, �ao#Bosnian|�ao, merhaba#Bosnian|merhaba, selam#Bosnian|selam
Bulgarian: зд�авей (zdrávej, familiar), зд�авей�е (zdrávejte, formal)
Catalan: hola
Chinese: (Standard Chinese): ä½ å¥½ (nÇ� hÇ�o), æ�¨å¥½ (formal nÃn hÇ�o)
:(Cantonese) ä½ å¥½ (nei5 hou2)
:(Wu) ä½ å¥½ (non ho)
Croatian: zdravo#Croatian|zdravo, �ao#Croatian|�ao, bok#Croatian|bok, bog
Czech: ahoj, nazdar italbrac|informal, dobrý den (formal)
Danish: hej, dav, god dag (formal)
Dutch: hallo, hoi, dag (informal), goede dag (formal)
Esperanto: saluton
Estonian: tere
Faroese: hey, halló
Fijian: bula
Filipino: hoy, kumustá
Finnish: terve, moi, hei, moikka
French: salut italbrac|informal, bonjour
Frisian: hallo, hoi
Galician: ola
Georgian: á��á��á��á��á� á�¯á��á��á�� (gamardžoba)
German: hallo, guten Tag
Gilbertese: mauri
Greek,
:Ancient: �αί�ε (khere), �αί�ε και �γίαινε (khere ke iyiene)
:Modern: γειά (yeiá), γειά �ο� (yeiá sou), γειά �α� (yeiá sas, formal), �αί�ε�ε (kherete)
Hausa: sannu
Hawaiian: aloha
Hebrew: ש���|שָ���ֹ� (shalóm)
Hindi: नमस�त� (namasté)
Hmong: nyob zoo
Hungarian: szia, sziasztok pitalbrac|informal; szervusz, szervusztok p formal
Icelandic: halló, hæ
Indonesian: hai
Interlingua: bon die
Irish: dia dhuit, dia is muire dhuit
Italian: ciao, salve#Italian|salve, buongiorno
Japanese: ��������� (ohay� gozaimásu good morning, polite), ����� (kónnichi wa good day), ����� (kómban wa good evening), ���� (ohay� good morning, informal)
trans-mid
Jèrriais: bouônjour
Kazakh: RUchar|��лем (s�lem), �алам (salam), RUchar|��леме���зде� (s�lemetsizder, formal)
Korean: ko-inline|ì��ë��í��ì�ë��ê¹�|annyeonghasimnikka (formal) ko-inline|ì��ë��í��ì�¸ì��|annyeonghaseyo (neutrally formal), ko-inline|ì��ë��|annyeong (informal)
Lao: (sabai dii)
Latin: salve#Latin|salve, ave#Latin|ave
Lithuanian: labas, sveikas italbrac|informal, sveiki formal
Livonian: t�ri�tš
Maltese: bonġu (before 12:00 p.m.), bonswa (after 12:00 p.m.)
Mohawk: sekoh
Norwegian: hallo, hei, god dag formal, halla italbrac|informal
Persian: FAchar|سÙ�اÙ� (salâm); religious: FAchar|سÙ�اÙ� عÙ�Û�Ú©Ù� (salamon alaikum); literary: FAchar|درÙ�د (dorood); morning: FAchar|ØµØ¨Ø Ø¨Ø®Û�ر (sobh bekhair), afternoon: FAchar|ظÙ�ر بخÛ�ر (zohr bekhair), evening: FAchar|عصر بخÛ�ر (asr bekhair)
Polish: cze�� italbrac|informal, witaj, witajcie, witam (more formal), dzie� dobry formal
Portuguese: oi, olá, bom dia
Romanian: salut, bun�, noroc (informal), bun� ziua (formal)
Russian: п�иве� (privét, informal), зд�ав��в�й�е (zdrávstvujte, formal), доб��й ден� (dóbryj den�)
Sanskrit: नमस��ार (namask�ram)
Scottish Gaelic: latha math
Serbian:
:Cyrillic: зд�аво#Serbian|зд�аво, �ао#Serbian|�ао
:Roman: zdravo#Serbian|zdravo, �ao#Serbian|�ao
Setswana: dumela (s; e.g. "Dumela, rra" "hello sir"); dumelang (p; e.g. "Dumelang, borra" "hello gentlemen")
Sicilian: ciao, salutamu
Slovak: ahoj, servus, nazdar italbrac|informal, dobrý de� formal
Slovene: živjo, zdravo italbrac|informal; dober dan, pozdravljeni formal
Spanish: hola, buenos dÃas
Swahili: jambo
Swedish: hallå, hej, god dag formal, tjena, hejsan italbrac|informal
Swiss German: sälü, hoi, hallo
Tamil: வண���ம� (vanakkam)
Tagalog: kamusta, kumusta
Thai: THchar|สวัส�ี�รั� (sà wà tdee kráp) m, THchar|สวัส�ี��ะ (sà wà tdee kâ) f
Turkish: merhaba#Turkish|merhaba
Tuvan: �кии (ekii)
Ukrainian: пÑ�ивÑ�Ñ� (pryvÃt, informal), добÑ�ий денÑ� (dobry den, formal)
Vietnamese: xin chà o, chà o (ông, bà #Vietnamese|bà , cô#Vietnamese|cô, anh#Vietnamese|anh, ch�, em#Vietnamese|em, quà v� � depending on gender and relative social status of person addressed)
Welsh: helo, bore da (good morning), dydd da (good day)
Zulu: sawubona
trans-bottom
trans-top|when answering the telephone
Afrikaans: hallo
Arabic: ARchar|آ�� (��lló)
Armenian: ալլո (alló)
Bosnian: halo#Bosnian|halo, molim#Bosnian|molim
Bulgarian: ало (aló)
Catalan: digui, si, hola
Chinese: å�� (wéi), æ�¨å¥½ (formal, nÃn hÇ�o)
Croatian: molim, izvolite, halo
Czech: haló
Danish: hallo
Dutch: hallo
Estonian: hallo, halloo
Finnish: haloo
French: allô
Frisian: hallo
Georgian: ��� (alo), ������� (gisment�)
German: hallo
Greek: εμ���� (embros), ναι (ne)
Hindi: नमस��ार (namaskar)
Hungarian: halló
Icelandic: halló, hæ], hæ hæ, góðan dag, góða daginn, góðan daginn (technicaly uncorrect)
Indonesian: halo
Interlingua: hallo
Italian: pronto#Italian|pronto
trans-mid
Japanese: ���� (móshi-móshi)
Korean: �보�� (yeoboseyo)
Lithuanian: alio
Maltese: ħellow
Norwegian: hallo
Persian: (alo)
Polish: halo#Polish|halo, s�ucham
Portuguese: alô
Romanian: alo, haló
Russian: алло (alló)
Serbian:
:Cyrillic: �ало#Serbian|�ало, молим#Serbian|молим
:Roman: halo#Serbian|halo, molim#Serbian|molim
Slovak}}: haló
Slovene: halo, prosim
Spanish: bueno, diga, dÃgame, aló, hola
Swedish: hallå, hej, god dag formal
Tagalog: magandang tanghali po (good day_
Thai: THchar|สวัส�ี�รั� (sà wà tdee kráp) m, THchar|สวัส�ี��ะ (sà wà tdee kâ) f (formal) THchar|ฮัล�หล (hanl�h) (informal)
Turkish: alo, efendim
Ukrainian: алло (alló), �л��а� (slukhaju)
Vietnamese: a-lô
Welsh:
trans-bottom
trans-top|is anyone there?
Bosnian: halo#Bosnian|halo?
Catalan: hola?
Chinese: �人�� (y�u rén ma)
Croatian: halo#Croatian|halo?
Czech: haló
Danish: hallo
Dutch: hallo?
Estonian: halloo?
Finnish: huhuu?
French: eh oh? oh eh? allô?
German: hallo?, jemand da?
Icelandic: halló?
Interlingua: hallo?
trans-mid
Italian: c'è nessuno?
Korean: ���? (gyeseyo?)
Lithuanian: sveiki
Maltese: hawn xi ħadd?
Portuguese: olá
Romanian: alo?, haló?
Russian: а�! (aú)
Serbian:
:Cyrillic: �ало#Serbian|�ало?
:Roman: halo#Serbian|halo?
Slovak: haló?
Slovene: halo?
Spanish: ¿aló?
Swedish: hallå
Thai: THchar|มีà¹�à¸�รà¸à¸¢à¸¹à¹�มัà¹�ย? (mee krai yòo mái?)
trans-bottom
trans-top|sarcastic: that was foolish
Dutch: ja, hallo!
Estonian: halloo!, tere hommikust!, tere tali!
Finnish: haloo!
German: hallo!, halloho!
trans-mid
Icelandic: halló!
Norwegian: hall-oooo
Slovene: halo!
Swedish: men hallå
trans-bottom
trans-top|expression of puzzlement
Dutch: hallo!
Frisian: hallo!
German: hallo
Icelandic: halló
Slovene: hej!
trans-mid
trans-bottom
Translations to be checked
checktrans
trans-top|To be checked
ttbc|Bulgarian: ало (2)
ttbc|Chamorro: hafa dai
ttbc|Fijian: bula (:fj:bula|^)
ttbc|Galician: hola
ttbc|Lao: (sabai di)
trans-mid
ttbc|Maori: kia ora
ttbc|Marshallese: yokwe<!-- not wikified due to incertainty of orthography -->
ttbc|Nahuatl: niltze
ttbc|Nepali: <!--insert Devanagari spelling--> (namaskar)
ttbc|Slovak: ahoj, �auko
ttbc|Tatar: isänme(sez)!, sälâm! (1), allo, hallow (2)
ttbc|Urdu: URchar|آداب (�d�b), URchar|ا�س�ا� ع��ک� (�ss�lam �alaykum)
ttbc|Volapük: glidis
trans-bottom
See also
greeting
:Category:Greetings
Category:Greetings
Category:Phrasebook
bs:hello
de:hello
es:hello
fa:hello
fr:hello
ko:hello
hi:hello
iu:hello
it:hello
lt:hello
hu:hello
ja:hello
pl:hello
sg:hello
simple:hello
fi:hello
ta:hello
vi:hello
ti:hello
yi:hello
zh:hello
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