People all around the world use “hey” as a friendly way to grab attention, greet someone, or start a conversation. It’s short, casual, and works in almost any setting.
But if you’re traveling, learning a new language, or just curious about cultures, you might wonder how to say “hey in different languages.”
This guide will help you! By the end, you’ll know how to greet people in 70 different languages with a friendly “hey.”
Each translation includes a country flag emoji, a simple pronunciation guide, and an example sentence so you can start using it right away.
How to Say Hey in 70 Different Languages
- English (🇺🇸) – Hey | Pronunciation: hay
Example: Hey, how are you today? - Spanish (🇪🇸) – Hola | Pronunciation: oh-lah
Example: Hola, ¿cómo estás? - French (🇫🇷) – Salut | Pronunciation: sah-loo
Example: Salut, mon ami! - German (🇩🇪) – Hallo | Pronunciation: hah-loh
Example: Hallo, wie geht’s? - Italian (🇮🇹) – Ciao | Pronunciation: chow
Example: Ciao, amico! - Portuguese (🇵🇹) – Olá | Pronunciation: oh-lah
Example: Olá, tudo bem? - Dutch (🇳🇱) – Hoi | Pronunciation: hoy
Example: Hoi, hoe gaat het? - Russian (🇷🇺) – Привет (Privet) | Pronunciation: pree-vyet
Example: Привет, как дела? - Chinese Mandarin (🇨🇳) – 嘿 (Hēi) | Pronunciation: hay
Example: 嘿,你好嗎? (Hey, nǐ hǎo ma?) - Japanese (🇯🇵) – ねえ (Nee) | Pronunciation: neh-eh
Example: ねえ、元気? (Nee, genki?) - Korean (🇰🇷) – 야 (Ya) | Pronunciation: yah
Example: 야, 뭐해? (Ya, mwo-hae?) - Arabic (🇸🇦) – أهلاً (Ahlan) | Pronunciation: ah-lan
Example: أهلاً يا صديقي! (Ahlan ya sadeeqi!) - Hindi (🇮🇳) – अरे (Are) | Pronunciation: ah-ray
Example: अरे, कैसे हो? (Are, kaise ho?) - Urdu (🇵🇰) – ارے (Arey) | Pronunciation: ah-ray
Example: ارے، کیا حال ہے؟ (Arey, kya haal hai?) - Turkish (🇹🇷) – Selam | Pronunciation: seh-lahm
Example: Selam, nasılsın? - Greek (🇬🇷) – Γεια (Ya) | Pronunciation: yah
Example: Γεια, φίλε! (Ya, file!) - Hebrew (🇮🇱) – היי (Hey) | Pronunciation: hay
Example: היי, מה קורה? (Hey, ma kore?) - Thai (🇹🇭) – เฮ้ (Hey) | Pronunciation: hay
Example: เฮ้ สบายดีไหม (Hey, sabaidee mai?) - Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Này | Pronunciation: nai
Example: Này, bạn khỏe không? - Polish (🇵🇱) – Hej | Pronunciation: hey
Example: Hej, co słychać? - Swedish (🇸🇪) – Hej | Pronunciation: hey
Example: Hej, hur mår du? - Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Hei | Pronunciation: hay
Example: Hei, hva skjer? - Danish (🇩🇰) – Hej | Pronunciation: hi
Example: Hej, hvordan går det? - Finnish (🇫🇮) – Hei | Pronunciation: hay
Example: Hei, mitä kuuluu? - Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Szia | Pronunciation: see-ya
Example: Szia, barátom! - Czech (🇨🇿) – Ahoj | Pronunciation: ah-hoy
Example: Ahoj, jak se máš? - Slovak (🇸🇰) – Ahoj | Pronunciation: ah-hoy
Example: Ahoj, priatel! - Romanian (🇷🇴) – Hei | Pronunciation: hay
Example: Hei, ce faci? - Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Здрасти (Zdrasti) | Pronunciation: zdrah-stee
Example: Здрасти, как си? - Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Привіт (Pryvit) | Pronunciation: pree-veet
Example: Привіт, друже! - Serbian (🇷🇸) – Zdravo | Pronunciation: zdrah-voh
Example: Zdravo, prijatelju! - Croatian (🇭🇷) – Bok | Pronunciation: bohk
Example: Bok, kako si? - Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Zdravo | Pronunciation: zdrah-voh
Example: Zdravo, prijatelju! - Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Živjo | Pronunciation: zhiv-yo
Example: Živjo, prijatelj! - Malay (🇲🇾) – Hai | Pronunciation: hi
Example: Hai, apa khabar? - Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Hai | Pronunciation: hi
Example: Hai, apa kabar? - Filipino/Tagalog (🇵🇭) – Hoy | Pronunciation: hoy
Example: Hoy, kumusta ka? - Swahili (🇰🇪) – Hujambo | Pronunciation: hoo-jahm-boh
Example: Hujambo rafiki! - Zulu (🇿🇦) – Sawubona | Pronunciation: sah-woo-boh-nah
Example: Sawubona, mfowethu! - Afrikaans (🇿🇦) – Haai | Pronunciation: hi
Example: Haai, hoe gaan dit? - Amharic (🇪🇹) – ሄይ (Hey) | Pronunciation: hay
Example: ሄይ ጓደኛ! (Hey gwadenya!) - Persian (🇮🇷) – سلام (Salam) | Pronunciation: sah-lahm
Example: سلام، دوستم! (Salam, doostam!) - Pashto (🇦🇫) – هې (Hey) | Pronunciation: hay
Example: هې، څنګه يې؟ (Hey, tsenga ye?) - Kurdish (🇮🇶) – Slaw | Pronunciation: slahw
Example: Slaw, hawre! - Nepali (🇳🇵) – हे (He) | Pronunciation: hay
Example: हे साथी, कस्तो छ? - Sinhala (🇱🇰) – හේයි (Heyi) | Pronunciation: hay-ee
Example: හේයි, කොහොමද? (Heyi, kohomada?) - Bengali (🇧🇩) – এই (Ei) | Pronunciation: ay
Example: এই, কেমন আছো? (Ei, kemon acho?) - Tamil (🇮🇳) – ஏய் (Ey) | Pronunciation: ay
Example: ஏய், எப்படி இருக்க? (Ey, eppadi irukka?) - Telugu (🇮🇳) – అరే (Are) | Pronunciation: ah-ray
Example: అరే, ఎలా ఉన్నావు? (Are, ela unnāvu?) - Kannada (🇮🇳) – ಅಯ್ಯೋ (Ayyo) | Pronunciation: ay-yo
Example: ಅಯ್ಯೋ, ಹೇಗಿದ್ದೀಯ? (Ayyo, hegiddiya?) - Gujarati (🇮🇳) – અરે (Are) | Pronunciation: ah-ray
Example: અરે, કેમ છો? (Are, kem cho?) - Punjabi (🇮🇳) – ਅਰੇ (Are) | Pronunciation: ah-ray
Example: ਅਰੇ, ਕੀ ਹਾਲ ਹੈ? (Are, kee haal hai?) - Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Хөөе (Khoe) | Pronunciation: kho-eh
Example: Хөөе, найз аа! - Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Сәлем (Salem) | Pronunciation: sah-lem
Example: Сәлем, досым! - Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Salom | Pronunciation: sah-lom
Example: Salom, do‘stim! - Tajik (🇹🇯) – Салом (Salom) | Pronunciation: sah-lom
Example: Салом, дӯстон! - Georgian (🇬🇪) – გამარჯობა (Gamarjoba) | Pronunciation: gah-mar-jo-bah
Example: გამარჯობა, მეგობარო! - Armenian (🇦🇲) – Բարև (Barev) | Pronunciation: bah-rev
Example: Բարև, ընկեր! - Latvian (🇱🇻) – Sveiki | Pronunciation: sve-kee
Example: Sveiki, draugs! - Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Sveikas | Pronunciation: svey-kahs
Example: Sveikas, bičiuli! - Estonian (🇪🇪) – Tere | Pronunciation: teh-reh
Example: Tere, sõber! - Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Hæ | Pronunciation: hi
Example: Hæ, vinur! - Maltese (🇲🇹) – Ħej | Pronunciation: hey
Example: Ħej, kif inti? - Irish (🇮🇪) – Haigh | Pronunciation: hi
Example: Haigh, a chara! - Scottish Gaelic (🏴) – Hey | Pronunciation: hay
Example: Hey, caraid! - Welsh (🏴) – Hei | Pronunciation: hay
Example: Hei, sut wyt ti?
Conclusion
No matter where you go in the world, the word “hey” always carries love and respect. 🌍💬✨