allô
French
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editInterjection
editallô
- (telephony) hello (when answering at the beginning of a call)
- (telephony) used to confirm that the person being addressed is listening, or to confirm if anyone is listening
- Allô? Tu m’entends? ― Hello? You hear me?
- (North America) hello (as an in-person greeting)
- (informal) hello! (implying someone is not paying attention to the obvious)
Usage notes
edit- Using "allô" as a greeting is normal in Quebec and Louisiana, but particularly rude in Europe, where it should be avoided.
Descendants
edit- → Hijazi Arabic: ألو
- → Persian: الو (alo)
- → Romanian: alo
- → Russian: алло́ (alló)
- → Spanish: aló
- → Turkish: alo
- → Vietnamese: a-lô
Further reading
edit- “allô”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.