hej

• IPA^(key): [ˈɦɛj]

hej

1. hey, hi (an exclamation to call attention)

Borrowed from Swedish hej (“hello, hi”), possibly influenced by English hi.

• IPA^(key): /hɑj/, [hɑ̈j]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aj

hej

1. hi, hello
2. (less common) bye

• (hi): goddag

• (antonym(s) of “hi”): farvel

From Polish hej, English hey, German hei, Latin heus.

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /hei̯/
• Rhymes: -ei̯
• Hyphenation: hej

hej

1. (neologism, informal) hey

hej

1. hi, hello

• aluu

An onomatopoeia.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈhɛj]
• Hyphenation: hej

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj
• Homophone: hely

hej

1. oh!
2. hey!

• (interjection expressing sorrow, dismay, amazement etc.): hej in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• (interjection to attract attention): hej in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Onomatopoeic. Compare Slovak hej.

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj
• Syllabification: hej

hej

1. hey (call for attention)
2. (colloquial) hi, hey (greeting)
3. (dialectal or, Żywiec) yeah, yep

   Synonyms: ano, tak, jo

• hej in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• hej in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Izydor Kopernicki (1875) “hej”, in “Spostrzeżenia nad właściwościami językowémi w mowie Górali Bieskidowych z dodatkiem słowniczka wyrazów góralskich”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (I), volume 3, Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności, page 371

Of exclamatory origin, similar to English hi.

• IPA^(key): /ɦɛj/

hej (Cyrillic spelling хеј)

1. hi (greeting)
2. hey (exclamation, call for attention)

Of exclamatory origin. Compare Polish hej.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɦɛj/

hej

1. (colloquial) yeah, yep

   Synonym: áno

   Antonym: nie

2. hey (exclamation)

• “hej”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Derived from Old Norse hei, likely from Low German hei or German hei, both from Latin hei (“oh! ah!”), of natural exclamatory origin. First attested in 1541.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛjː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj

hej

1. hi, hello [since 1710]^[1]

   Hej!

   Hi!

   Hej, vad gör du?

   Hi, what are you up to?

   (literally, “Hi, what do you?”)

   Jag sa hej till din bror i affären igår

   I said hi to your brother at the store yesterday

   • 1960, Britt Lindeborg, “Hej, mitt vinterland [Hey [or "hi / hello"], my winterland]”, in Julefrid med Carola [Christmas peace / serenity with Carola]‎^[1], performed by Carola:

     Hej, mitt vinterland, nu är jag här. Nu biter frosten i min kind, ty kall är kvällen. Hej, mitt vinterland, se månen där. Den lyser kyligt trind / kring [differs between versions] på mörka himlapällen. Bjällrans klang friden stör, när vi genom skogen kör. Bofink uti grannens topp, förlåt att vi väckte dig opp. Hej, mitt vinterland, nu är jag här. Och vinter ["vintern" (definite) in some versions], håll i dig / på vinterholiday [possibly the original lyrics, then misunderstood or changed], nu blinkar stugans ljus mot mig, i mitt vita vinterland.

     Hey [or "hi / hello"], my winterland, now I am here. Now the frost bites my cheek, for the evening is cold. Hey, my winterland, look at the moon there. It shines cool and plump / coolly around ["coolly round/plump / around" – differs between versions] in the dark canopy of the sky. The sound of the [jingle] bell disturbs the peace as we ride [drive] through the forest. Chaffinch at [in] the top of the spruce, we're sorry for waking you up [sorry for that we woke you up]. Hey, my winterland, now I am here. And winter, brace yourself / on winter holiday [ad hoc], now the [Christmas, probably] lights of the cottage twinkle ["blink" – tindra (“twinkle”) is less common for electric lights in Swedish] at [toward] me, in my white winterland.

2. (less common) bye

   Synonym: hej då

   Vi syns, hej!

   See you, bye!

   Hej hej

   Bye bye

   • 2023, 31:48 from the start, in Gränsbevakarna, season 2, episode 8, spoken by customs officer:

     Varsågod. Nästa gång, kolla Tullverket, okej? Så ni inte hamnar i samma situation. Hej, hej.

     You're welcome. Next time, check with Customs, okay? So you don't end up in the same situation. Bye, bye.

3. An expression of intensity (in some expressions); hey

   Hej vad det går!

   "Hey how it (stuff, like a party) goes!"

   • 1982, Gyllene Tider, “Sommartider [Summer times]”‎^[2]:

     Sommartider, hej, hej, sommartider. Ge mig din hunger, ge mig din hand. Ge mig allt du vill och allt du kan. Sommartider, hej, hej, sommartider. Läppar mot läppar som tar mig i land. Som ger sommartider till varann.

     Summer times, hey, hey, summer times. Give me your hunger, give me your hand. Give me everything that you want and everything that you can. Summer times, hey, hey, summer times. Lips against lips, that take me ashore. That give summer times to each other.

4. A filler, in some expressions; hey [since 1849]^[1]

   Hej och hå

   Hey ho

   • 1970, “Kalle Teodor”, Astrid Lindgren (lyrics), Georg Riedel (music)‎^[3]:

     Men en stormnatt kan du höra nån som ropar: Hej hå! Ifrån havets djup det kommer, och det låter så: Hej hå! Hej hå!

     But on a stormy night you can hear someone calling: Hey ho! From the ocean depths ["the sea's depth(s)" – intuitively "depth," though the plural is identical – singular is idiomatic in "dras ner i djupet" (be pulled into the depths [depth]), for example] it comes, and it sounds like that: Hey ho! Hey ho! [Or "and it sounds like so," but that is an idiomatic way of saying "and it sounds like that," whereas "and it sounds like this" would normally be put as "och det låter så här." The official lyrics have a colon.]

• The most common greeting. Neutral in tone, like English hi, hello. The corresponding farewell hej då is similarly neutral, like English bye, goodbye.
• "Hey" to get someone's attention is hallå, du (used as a vocative), or colloquially öh.
• Traditionally an informal greeting, in modern Swedish it is often found in formal letters or e-mails, where sometimes in English Dear Sir or Madam would be preferred.

• hej kom och hjälp mig

• du (used as a vocative)
• hallå ("Hey!" to get someone's attention)
• hälsa (“to greet”)
• hälsning
• hälsningsfras
• med vänliga hälsningar

• hej in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• hej in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)