hi
English
Etymology 1
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.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Interjection
hi
- A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival.
- 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!
Audio (US) (file)
- Anna: Pete, hi! Hi, we are here! — Pete: Hi, Anna! Hi, Marsha! — Anna: Hi! — Pete: How are you two? — Marsha: I am great!
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- An exclamation to call attention.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- 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.
- (dated) Expressing wonder or derision.
Translations
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Noun
hi (plural his)
Etymology 2
From high.
Adjective
hi
- Informal spelling of high, often in hyphenated terms.
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Derived terms
Related terms
Anagrams
Albanian
Etymology
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”)).
Noun
hi m (definite singular hiri)
- ash, ashes
- dust of corpses
- (figuratively) memory of the dead
Derived terms
Basque
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hi
Usage notes
- 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)
Declension
Related terms
Further reading
- “hi” in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus
- “hi” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus
Breton
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *sī. Cognate to Welsh hi.
Pronoun
hi
Catalan
Etymology
From Old Catalan y, i, hic, from Latin hīc (“here”) and ibī (“there”). Compare French y.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hi (enclitic and proclitic)
- represents a place associated with the action described by the verb, unless the place would be introduced by the preposition de
- there (in constructions such as "there is", "there are", etc.: see haver-hi)
- replaces an adverb (or adverbial phrase) describing the manner, instrument or association of an action
- replaces a phrase introduced by any preposition except de (most commonly a or en)
- replaces an indefinite noun or an adjective which is the predicate of a verb other than ésser, esdevenir, estar or semblar
- (Central Catalan) in combination with other object pronouns, the third-person singular indirect object pronoun ("to him", "to her", "to it")
Usage notes
- 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 compliment beginning with de. This is not completely accurate, as hi can replace adverbial phrases such as de pressa, de sobte, etc.
Declension
Derived terms
- (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
See also
Further reading
- “hi” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Cornish
Etymology 1
From Proto-Celtic *sī. Cognate to Welsh hi.
Pronoun
hi
- she (third-person feminine singular personal pronoun).
Etymology 2
Noun
hi
- Aspirate mutation of ki.
Danish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Norwegian hi, from Old Norse hið.
Noun
hi n (singular definite hiet, plural indefinite hier)
- winter quarters, winter lair (for hibernation); hibernation (used literally or figuratively)
- at gå i hi
- to enter hibernation
- at gå i hi
Declension
Synonyms
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeia for laughter or giggling.
Interjection
hi
- (onomatopoeia) Signifies giggling.
See also
Fasu
Noun
hị
- (Namumi) Synonym of he
References
- Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
German
Etymology
Borrowed from English hi, from 1990s digitalization.
Pronunciation
Interjection
hi
Further reading
- “hi” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Japanese
Romanization
hi
Latin
Pronoun
hī
Maltese
Etymology
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hi
- Alternative form of hija
Inflection
Inflected forms of hi | |
---|---|
positive | hija, hi |
negative | mhijiex, mhix |
possessive pronoun | tagħha |
basic suffix | -ha |
direct object suffix | -ha |
indirect object suffix | -lha |
Middle Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hi
Inflection
Descendants
Further reading
- “hi”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “hi (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
Middle English
Etymology 1
Pronoun
hi
- Alternative form of I (“I”)
Etymology 2
Pronoun
hi
- Alternative form of he (“he”)
Etymology 3
Pronoun
hi
- Alternative form of heo (“she”)
Etymology 4
Pronoun
hi
- Alternative form of he (“they”)
Middle Low German
Pronunciation
- Possibly: IPA(key): /hiː/
- Certainly: Stem vowel: ê⁴
Pronoun
hî
- Alternative form of hê.
North Frisian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Frisian hī, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe.
Pronoun
hi
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
hi n (definite singular hiet, indefinite plural hi, definite plural hia)
- lair (of an animal), sett (badgers)
- Bjørnene har gått i hi for vinteren.
- The bears have entered their lairs for the winter.
Etymology 2
Determiner
hi f (masculine hin, neuter hitt, plural hine)
Etymology 3
Interjection
hi
- hee; expression of snickering
References
- “hi” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hī
- Alternative form of hīe (“they”)
Old Frisian
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz. Cognates include Old English hē and Old Dutch hie.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hī
Declension
Descendants
References
- Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN
Old Irish
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
From Proto-Celtic *en (compare Welsh yn), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (compare English in, Latin in, Ancient Greek ἐν (en)).
The 3rd-person singular masculine and neuter inflected dative form and is not derived from a contraction with a pronoun. Instead, it was originally an adverb with an independent etymology. See its page for its etymology.
Preposition
hi (triggers eclipsis)
- in [+dative]
- into [+accusative]
- in regard to, as to [+dative]
For quotations using this term, see Citations:hi.
Inflection
Person | Normal | Emphatic |
---|---|---|
1st person sing. | indium(m) | indiumsa |
2d person sing. | indiut | indiuts(i)u |
3d sing. masc./neut., dative | and | andsom |
3d sing. masc./neut., accusative | ind | indsom |
3d sing. fem., dative | indi | |
3d sing. fem., accusative | inte | intesi |
1st person pl. | indiunn | indiunni |
2d person pl. | indib | indibsi |
3d person pl., dative | indib | indibsom, indibsem |
3d person pl., accusative | intiu |
Combinations with the definite article:
- isin (accusative masculine/feminine singular)
- issa (accusative neuter singular)
- isind (dative singular)
- isna (accusative plural)
- isnaib (dative plural)
Combinations with possessive determiners:
The form i is unchanged in combination with a relative pronoun.
Descendants
Further reading
- Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940, reprinted 2003)D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, →ISBN, § 842, pages 518–22
Etymology 2
Particle
hi
- Alternative spelling of í
Pali
Alternative forms
Conjunction
hi
Adverb
hi
References
- Childers, Robert Caesar, Dictionary of the Päli Language, London: Trübner & Company, 1875.
- Pali Text Society (1921-1925), “hi”, in Pali-English Dictionary, London: Chipstead
Sumerian
Romanization
hi
- Romanization of 𒄭 (ḫi)
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
Verb
hi
See also
Welsh
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *sī (compare Old Irish sí).
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hi
Westrobothnian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
hi n
Derived terms
Yola
Pronoun
hi
- Alternative form of hea (“he”)
- 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 5:
- Hi soon was ee-teight.
- They were soon taught.
References
- Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 86
Yoruba
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
Noun
hí
- The name of the Latin-script letter H.
See also
- (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
Etymology 2
Preposition
hí
Alternative forms
Derived terms
- húlí (“to the home”)
See also
Zou
Pronunciation
Noun
hi
References
- Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 40