هی

See also: هي and ہی

Ottoman Turkish

هی • (hеy)

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sádaH (“always”). Compare Sanskrit सदा (sadā, “always”), Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬜𐬀 (haδa, “always”).

Readings
Iranian reading^?	hey

هی • (hey) (colloquial, chiefly Iran)

repeatedly, continuously, always; keep...
Synonym: مرتب (morattab) — formal

u hey mi-goft moškeli nist.
He kept saying "no problem."

mâdar-eš inâ hey zang zadan.
His mom and the rest kept calling on the phone.
(often dialectal) to be... -ing; marks the progressive aspect, usually marked with (dâštan) in Tehran.
- 2025, داریوش غریب زاده, زیر درخت بابُل, Shiraz, Iran: Pirsook, page 42:
  چند روز بعد دِی‌پاتا گفت: «خروس هندی هی می‌میره.»
  čand ruz-e ba'd dey-pâtâ goft: "xorus-e hendi hey mi-mire."
  A few days later, Dey Pata said, "The Indian rooster is dying."

Borrowed from English hey

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [häj], [heː]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔäj], [ʔeː]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔäj], [ʔeː]

Readings
Dari reading^?	hay, hē
Iranian reading^?	hey

هی • (hey)

Borrowed from Arabic هاء (hāʔ) with vowel shift due to imala

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [heː]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔeː]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔeː]

Readings
Classical reading^?	hē
Dari reading^?	hē