hi
/haɪ/interjection, noun, adjective
hi is spelled H-I: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 100 times per million words in written English, the 1,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “hi vs high” about 90 times a month (Google, United States). As an interjection, hi means “A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hi?
| Letters | 2: H-I |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 100 times per million words; the 1,076th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is hi?
Hi appears 100 times per million words in written English, the 1,076th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hi?
- /haɪ/
- /haːj/
Hi has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hi.ogg, En-uk-hi.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hi
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: hie, high (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of hi
- heigh
- his plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hi mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
A friendly, informal, casual greeting said upon someone's arrival.
Hi, how are you?
- 2
An exclamation to call attention.
- 3
Expressing wonder or derision.
How did he do that, hi?
noun
- 1
The word "hi" used as a greeting.
I didn't even get a hi.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of high (“high gear or high range”).
- 2
Initialism of hyperspectral imaging.
adjective
- 1
informalInformal spelling of high, often in hyphenated terms.
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Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hi in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense friendly, informal greeting:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | salut |
| German | hallo, 'n Tag, sali, hoi, grüezi |
| Portuguese | olá, oi, alô, e ai? |
| Spanish | hola |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hi come from?
American English. First recorded reference is to speech of a Kansas Indian (1862); originally to attract attention, probably a variant of Middle English hey, hy (circa 1475). Also an exclamation to call attention. See hey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).