Hi or high?
hi is an interjection meaning “A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival”; high is an adjective meaning “Very elevated; extending or being far above a base; tall; lofty”. Use hi as an interjection and high as an adjective. They sound the same (/haɪ/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) high is about 5.6 times as common as hi.
What is the difference between hi and high?
| hi | high | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | interjection, noun, adjective | adjective, adverb, noun, verb |
| Meaning | A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival An exclamation to call attention The word "hi" used as a greeting | Very elevated; extending or being far above a base; tall; lofty Relatively elevated; rising or raised above the average or normal level from which elevation is measured In or to an elevated position |
| Example | Hi, how are you? | The balloon rose high in the sky. The wall was high. a high mountain |
| Forms | heigh | higher, highest |
| Pronunciation | /haɪ/ /haːj/ | /haɪ/ [haɪ̯] |
| In writing | 100 times per million words | 562 times per million words |
Sources: hi and high in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hi and high
hi
- 1
A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival
Hi, how are you?
- 2
The word "hi" used as a greeting
I didn't even get a hi
- 3
informalInformal spelling of high, often in hyphenated terms
Get hi-quality videos here!
- 4
Abbreviation of high (“high gear or high range”)
- 5
An exclamation to call attention
- 6
Initialism of hyperspectral imaging
- 7
Expressing wonder or derision
How did he do that, hi?
high
- 1
Very elevated; extending or being far above a base; tall; lofty
The balloon rose high in the sky. The wall was high. a high mountain
- 2
In or to an elevated position
How high above land did you fly?
- 3
A high point or position, literally (as, an elevated place; a superior region; a height; the sky; heaven) or figuratively (as, a point of success or achievement; a time when things are at their best…
It was one of the highs of his career
- 4
Relatively elevated; rising or raised above the average or normal level from which elevation is measured
- 5
In or at a great value
Costs have grown higher this year again
- 6
The maximum atmospheric temperature recorded at a particular location, especially during one 24-hour period
Today's high was 32 °C
- 7
Of a ball, above the batter's shoulders
the pitch (or: the ball) was high
- 8
At a pitch of great frequency
I certainly can't sing that high
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hi or high?
hi appears 100 times per million words; high 562 times per million words.
hi 100 times per million wordshigh 562 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search hi vs high?
“hi vs high” is searched about 90 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“high vs hi”, “hi or high”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.