hi

Clipping of English Hindi, from Hindi हिंदी (hindī), from Classical Persian هِنْدِی (hindī).

hi

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Hindi.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Hindi terms

American English. First recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian (1862); originally to attract attention, probably a variant of Middle English hey, hy (circa 1475). Also an exclamation to call attention. See hey.

• heigh

• IPA^(key): /haɪ/, Rhymes: -aɪ
  • Homophones: Hi, hie, high

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (Indic) IPA^(key): /haːj/

hi

1. A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival.

   Synonyms: hello, greetings, howdy

   Hi, how are you?

   I just dropped by to say “hi”.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Anna: Pete, hi! Hi, we are here! — Pete: Hi, Anna! Hi, Marsha! — Anna: Hi! — Pete: How are you two? — Marsha: I am great!

   • 1862, Miriam Davis Colt, Went to Kansas‎^[2], L. Ingalls & Company, →ISBN, page 143:

     When out on the prairie, up galloped an Indian on his pony with his saluting "hi!"

2. An exclamation to call attention.
   • 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.

   • 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Two Towers:

     'Come back now!' shouted Sam. 'Hi! Come back!' But Gollum had vanished.

3. (dated) Expressing wonder or derision.

hi (plural his)

1. The word "hi" used as a greeting.

   Synonyms: greeting, hello

   I didn't even get a hi.

From high.

hi

1. Informal spelling of high, often in hyphenated terms.

   Get hi-quality videos here!

• lo
• mid

• IH

Tosk form of Gheg hî (pl. hin), from Proto-Albanian *skina, from *skines, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenHis (compare Latin cinis (“dust; cinder”), Ancient Greek κόνις (kónis, “ashes; dust”)).

hi m (definite hiri)

1. ash, ashes
2. dust of corpses
3. (figurative) memory of the dead

• hirët
• hirtë
• hith

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): (Navarro-Lapurdian) /hi/ [hi]
• IPA^(key): (Southern) /i/ [i]
• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: hi

hi (emphatic forms heu, hihaur, herori)

1. (informal, familiar) Second-person singular personal pronoun; you

• This pronoun is very informal, and is only used between close friends or family members. In all other situations, zu is used.
• When addressing someone using this pronoun, all verb forms (including those not governed by hi) must be in allocutive agreement. For example:

  Mahaia handia da. ― The table is big.

  Mahaia handia duk. ― The table is big. (informal, to a male)

  Mahaia handia dun. ― The table is big. (informal, to a female)

• hiketa (“use of hi”)

• heu

• “hi”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “hi”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

• IPA^(key): /hiː/

From Middle High German hin, hine, from Old High German hina. Compare German hin, Dutch heen and English hence.

hi

2. Used to denote direction away from the speaker.

   Wo gehst'n hi? ― Where are you going?

• dåhi
• duathi

• hi-

Clipping of Middle High German hinüber.

hi (predicative)

1. out of order, broken

   Des Auto is hi. ― The car is broken.

2. exhausted, depleted

   Nåchn Spuat gestern woar i afoch nur hi. ― I was just exhausted after yesterday's sport.

3. (derogatory) dead, deceased

   Auffigstiegn, owigfoin, hi gwen. ― Ascended, fell off, dead.

4. (figuratively, derogatory, chiefly East Central Bavarian, Vienna) stupid

   Synonyms: ågrennt, deppert, waach

   Bist hi in der Marün? ― Are you stupid?

• hinig

From Proto-Celtic *sī. Cognate to Welsh hi.

hi

1. she

Inherited from Old Catalan y, i, hic, from Latin hīc (“here”) and ibī (“there”). Compare French y.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [i]
• Homophone: i
• Rhymes: -i

hi (enclitic and proclitic)

1. represents a place associated with the action described by the verb, unless the place would be introduced by the preposition de
2. there (in constructions such as "there is", "there are", etc.: see haver-hi)
3. replaces an adverb (or adverbial phrase) describing the manner, instrument or association of an action
4. replaces a phrase introduced by any preposition except de (most commonly a or en)
5. replaces an indefinite noun or an adjective which is the predicate of a verb other than ésser, esdevenir, estar or semblar
6. (Central) in combination with other object pronouns, the third-person singular indirect object pronoun ("to him", "to her", "to it")

• When more than one object pronoun is associated with a given verb, hi is always the last in the group.
• Hi and ho cannot be used together with the same verb, nor can two his be used together.
• It is sometimes stated that hi is never used to replace a complement beginning with de. This is not completely accurate, as hi can replace adverbial phrases such as de pressa, de sobte, etc.

• (Proclitic contractions): l'hi, m'hi, n'hi, s'hi, t'hi
• (Enclitic contractions): -ens-hi, -l'hi, -la-hi, -les-hi, -los-hi, 'ls-hi, -m'hi, -n'hi, 'ns-hi, -s'hi, -t'hi, -us-hi, -vos-hi

• en pron
• ho pron

• “hi”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

From English hi. Doublet of 嗨 (hāi).

hi

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) hi (interjection)

From English hi, see hi auntie for more.

hi

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, euphemistic, originally Internet slang, neologism) alternative form of 屌 (diu²)

• hi auntie

• hihi
• 向左走向右走

Irregular romanisation of 揩 (haai¹).

hi

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) alternative form of 揩 (haai¹)

From Proto-Brythonic *hi, from Proto-Celtic *sī. Cognate with Breton and Welsh hi, and Irish sí.

• (Revived Late Cornish) hei

hi f

1. she (third-person feminine singular personal pronoun).

   Hi a welas.

   She saw.

2. her (third-person feminine singular enclitic pronoun, used to reinforce previous pronoun).

   hy lyver hi

   her book

   Ple eth hi?

   Where did she go?

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

hi

1. aspirate mutation of ki

• Rhymes: -i
• Rhymes: -iː

From Norwegian hi, from Old Norse hið.

hi n (singular definite hiet, plural indefinite hier)

1. winter quarters, winter lair (for hibernation); hibernation (used literally or figuratively)

   at gå i hi

   to enter hibernation

• vinterhi

Onomatopoeia for laughter or giggling.

hi

1. (onomatopoeia) Signifies giggling.

• ha

hị

1. (Namumi) synonym of he

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Borrowed from English hi, from 1990s digitalization.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪ̯/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ̯
• Homophones: hei, high

hi

1. (very informal) hi

   Synonym: moin

• “hi” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

hi

1. The hiragana syllable ひ (hi) or the katakana syllable ヒ (hi) in Hepburn romanization.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhi/ [ˈhi̞]
• Rhymes: -i
• Syllabification: hi

hi

1. pronunciation variant of si

hī

1. nominative masculine plural of hic

From Arabic هِيَ (hiya).

• IPA^(key): /iː/
• Rhymes: -iː

hi

1. alternative form of hija

From Old Dutch hīe.

• IPA^(key): /hiː/

hi

1. he

• Dutch: hij, ie
• Limburgish: hae

• “hi”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “hi (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

hi

1. alternative form of I (“I”)

hi

1. alternative form of he (“he”)

hi

1. alternative form of heo (“she”)

hi

1. alternative form of he (“they”)

• Possibly: IPA^(key): /hiː/
• Certainly: Stem vowel: ê⁴
  • IPA^(key): /hiɛ/, /hiə/

hî

1. alternative form of hê

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

hi (pronominal hei or he, oblique hian)

1. this, these (near the speaker)

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “hi”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

From Hindi ही (hī).

hi

1. an emphatic particle

• IPA^(key): [ɦ̃ĩ˧]
• Hyphenation: hi

hi

1. month

• Li Jianfu (2017), A Descriptive Grammar of Namuyi Khatho spoken by Namuyi Tibetans‎^[3], Victoria: La Trobe University (PhD Thesis), page 472

• he

From Old Frisian hī, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe.

hi

1. he

   Hi wal sin frinjer üüb Feer beschük. ― He wants to visit his relatives on Föhr.

• IPA^(key): /hiː/

From Old Norse hið and híði.

hi n (definite singular hiet, indefinite plural hi, definite plural hia)

1. lair (of an animal), sett (badgers)

   Bjørnane har gått i hi for vinteren.

   The bears have entered their lairs for the winter.

   Bjørnen søv no, bjørnen søv no i sitt lune hi

   The bear is sleeping now, the bear is sleeping now in his cozy lair (a children song)

hi f (masculine hin, neuter hitt, plural hine)

1. feminine singular of hin

hi

1. hee; expression of snickering

• “hi” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): /xiː/, [hiː]

hī

1. alternative form of hīe (“they”)

From Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz. Cognates include Old English hē and Old Dutch hie.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhiː/

hī m (accusative hine, genitive sīn, dative him)

1. he

• North Frisian:

  Most dialects: hi, he

  Halligen: hii

• Saterland Frisian: hie
• West Frisian: hy

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009), An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

hi

1. alternative spelling of i

hi

1. alternative spelling of í

hi

1. for, because

hi

1. indeed, certainly

• Childers, Robert Caesar, Dictionary of the Päli Language, London: Trübner & Company, 1875.
• Pali Text Society (1921–1925), “hi”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

Possibly related to Guaraní ha'e

• IPA^(key): /hɪ̃̀/

hi

1. he, she (third-person subject pronoun)
2. him, her (third-person object pronoun)

hi

1. romanization of 𒄭 (ḫi)

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [hi˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [hɪj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [hɪj˧˧]

hi

1. to bare one's teeth

   Hi răng ra coi nào.

   Come on, show me your teeth.

• nhe

• IPA^(key): /hiː/

From Proto-Celtic *sī (compare Old Irish sí).

hi

1. she, her

hi

1. h-prothesized form of i

From Japanese 火(ひ) (hi, “fire”).

• IPA^(key): /hi/

hi

1. (Aohua) fire

• 林愷娣 [Lin Kaidi] (2022), A basic description of Yilan Creole phonology: with a special focus on the Aohua dialect‎^[4] (Unpublished thesis)

• h'

From Middle English hi (“they, them”), from Old English hīe, hī.

• IPA^(key): /hiː/, /h/
• Homophones: hea, heegh

hi

1. they
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 5, pages 86^[1]:

     Mot w'all aar boust, hi soon was ee-teight

     But with all their bravado they were soon taught

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 8, pages 86^[1]:

     Hi kinket an keilt, ee vewe aam 'twode snite.

     They kicked and rolled, the few that appeared.

2. them
   • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, lines 7^[2]:

     Shu ztaared an shu ztudied hi near parshagh moan,

     She stared and she studied (them) by the other passive woman,

IPA^(key): /hí/

hí

1. The name of the Latin-script letter H/h.

• (Latin-script letter names) lẹ́tà; á, bí, dí, é, ẹ́, fí, gí, gbì, hí, í, jí, kí, lí, mí, ní, ó, ọ́, pí, rí, sí, ṣí, tí, ú, wí, yí

• sí

hí

1. (Ikalẹ) to, at, toward (used when movement is implied)

• húlí (“to the home”)

• ní

• IPA^(key): /hi˧/

hi

1. disease

• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40