An informal exclamation used to show surprise, impatience, or that something obvious should be noticed.
Examples
Hello? The sign says the shop is closed.
Well, hello, I did not expect to find you here.
Hello? We have been waiting for twenty minutes.
She opened the box and said, "Hello, what is this?"
Hello? That answer was on the first page.
Similar words
really
come on
hey
well
wow
Spoken or written greeting
noun
everyday
neutral
A greeting made by saying or writing hello.
Examples
A warm hello made the new student feel welcome.
Their first hello was awkward but kind.
She ended the message with a quick hello to my parents.
The room filled with smiles and hellos.
He gave me a polite hello before the meeting.
Similar words
greeting
salutation
welcome
hi
opening
Greet by saying hello
verb
communication
informal
To greet someone by saying hello, a rare and informal use.
Examples
The children helloed every visitor at the door.
He helloed his way around the room.
They helloed the neighbors before sitting down.
She helloed politely and moved on.
The host hellos each caller before asking a question.
Similar words
greet
welcome
salute
hail
address
Etymology
First recorded in the nineteenth century as a call for attention or surprise, hello developed from earlier forms such as hallo and hullo. Its greeting use became especially common with the spread of the telephone.
FAQ
What does hello mean?
hello is mainly a greeting or a call for attention, especially when meeting someone or answering the phone.
Can hello be a noun?
Yes. A hello is a spoken or written greeting, and the usual plural is hellos.
Is hello formal or informal?
hello is neutral in most settings. hi and hey are more casual, while good morning or good afternoon may sound more formal.
What does hello? mean when someone is annoyed?
hello? can point out something obvious or show impatience, so tone matters.
Where does hello come from?
hello comes from nineteenth-century attention calls such as hallo and hullo, and became a standard greeting with telephone use.
Comments & contributions
Know this word from another angle? Add a correction, a nuance, or a usage note. New posts go public after a quick review.
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Lively Hamster
Jul 16
en español hello y hola se parecen, pero no los mezclaría. hello suena muy de teléfono para mí
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Tranquil Giraffe
Jul 15
hello is one of those words that looks easy until you try to teach all the tones
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Contribution
Lucky Pigeon
Jul 9
Hullo is not a typo in British books. It is just another spelling and pronunciation, often a bit old fashioned or character voice now. I wouldnt write it in a normal international email unless I was doing a style on purpose
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Contribution
Quiet Impala
Jul 9
In emails, people fight about the comma more than learners expect. Hello, John is the clean grammar answer for direct address, but Hello John, looks normal to a lot of people in quick email. Hello, John, feels fussy unless you really want that little pause.
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Rustic Swallow
Jul 7
If you need a stranger's attention, hey is the risky one, not hello. Hey, how much is this? to a shop worker can land as rude. Excuse me is the boring safe version.
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Happy Okapi
Jul 8
My mom still says hay is for horses whenever someone yells hey at her lol
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Smoky Nightingale
Jul 1
On a home phone, Hello? with the rising voice is normal for many people. Some older etiquette says give your name or number, but with spam calls now plenty of us really dont want to do that.
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Jovial Gull
Jul 2
Business phone is different though. If I call a clinic and they just say hello? I wonder if I got the wrong number
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Contribution
Grand Oriole
Jun 20
Careful with Hello dear. In a lot of learner emails it is meant politely, but to native English ears it can sound over intimate, patronising, or straight up spammy if the person is a stranger. Dear Mr Patel is normal, Hello dear Mr Patel is not.
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Frosty Gopher
Jun 23
yes this is a very Indian email habit, we copy Dear Sir from letters and then put dear everywhere
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Trusty Bear
Jun 15
The Edison story gets repeated in a weird way: he helped make hello the phone word, but he didnt invent it. Older hello/hallo was more of a shout for attention. Bell wanting ahoy for calls still makes me laugh because imagine every office call starting like a boat.
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Noble Zebra
Jun 19
i would answer every work call with ahoy if HR allowed it