Hi! Is there anybody home?

[ademoglu]

Hi,

As is seen in the Longman Dictionary (http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/hello) the word 'hello' can also be used when calling to get someone's attention: Hello! Is there anybody home?

I gather we cannot use 'hi' instead of 'hello' in this context, but I'd still like to ask if it is possible or not:

- Hi! Is there anybody home?

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

I really can't come up with a reason why we don't use "Hi" instead of "Hello" there, but we don't. It might have something to do with the fact that the "Hello" is more like a question. In fact, it would probably be written as "Hello?" or "Hellooooo?" in a sort of sing-song voice.

 

[lotus888]

I really don't see any reason why you can't say "hi". It's not wrong. I think we generally say "hi" when we see people face-to-face.

But in your situation, I don't see anything wrong with saying something like "Hi there, is there anyone home?" as you're peeking into the doorway.


--lotus

 

[Skrej]

I can't see any reason not to say 'hi', aside from the fact that 'hello' is slightly longer, and the more noise you make, the more likely you are to get somebody's attention if they are indeed home.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Ademoglu:

I agree that of course you could say "Hi" instead of "Hello."

But -- in my opinion -- "Hi" is less formal than "Hello."

So if you knock on your boss's door, it might be a good idea to use "Hello"! "Hi" might sound a bit too familiar for an employee to use.