hi

[haɪ̯]

/[haɪ̯]/ phrase

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“hi” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,300) as a phrase. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,300
frequency rank, German
3,372
“H” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - freundschaftliche, familiäre mündliche Begrüßung bei persönlichen Begegnungen und Telefongesprächen, bei denen der Angerufene weiß, wer ihn anruft (so dass auf eine Nennung des Namens verzichtet we...

Corpus desk

Index DE-hi · hi · German

hi · rank #2,300 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,300
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,372
  • PHOTO-FINISH Hauptstadt

Nearest frequency peer: Hauptstadt (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “hi”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hi” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hi vs hm
50% similar
hi vs hl
50% similar
hi vs Ho
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hi
PropertyValue
Headwordhi
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[haɪ̯]
Letters2
Frequency rank#2,300
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “hi” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.hiliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „Hauptstadt“ (#2,299), „high“ (#2,301), „gewann“ (#2,298). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for hi is neighbouring look-alikes ("hm", "hl", …), not just typos; it is aphrase pronounced [haɪ̯]. Frequency #2,300 among 3,372 “H” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for hi in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hm", "hl", "Ho", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is hi, spelled H-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    freundschaftliche, familiäre mündliche Begrüßung bei persönlichen Begegnungen und Telefongesprächen, bei denen der Angerufene weiß, wer ihn anruft (so dass auf eine Nennung des Namens verzichtet werden kann)
  2. 2
    freundschaftliche, familiäre schriftliche Anrede bei E-Mails und SMS

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hi appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hi, hier ist die Heike! Ist Ulla zu Hause?
  2. Hi, hast du meine letzte E-Mail nicht gelesen?

Synonyms

heheihey

This word in other languages

hi(English)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hi"?
"hi" is spelled H-I. The IPA pronunciation is [haɪ̯].
What does "hi" mean?
As a phrase, "hi" means: freundschaftliche, familiäre mündliche Begrüßung bei persönlichen Begegnungen und Telefongesprächen, bei denen der Angerufene weiß, wer ihn anruft (so dass auf eine Nennung des Namens verzichtet we...
What words are commonly confused with "hi"?
"hi" is commonly confused with "hm", "hl", "Ho". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hi" is [haɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hi" come from?
"hi" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "hi". Here's where to go from here.

  • "hi" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "hm". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,300 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list