喂
hello (on the phone); hey
HSK level
- Pinyin
- wèi
- Part of speech
- phrase
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- spoken
Stroke order for 喂
喂 is written with 12 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 喂 mean?
喂 (wèi) is the Chinese 'hello' used when answering or making phone calls — the equivalent of English 'hello?'
as you pick up. It is the default phone greeting across all generations and registers: when you hear the line connect, you say 喂？ with a slight rising or questioning tone. It's also used face-to-face to call someone's attention from a distance — 喂！你的钱包掉了！('hey! you dropped your wallet!'
) — but that use can sound rude or abrupt depending on tone, so soften with 你好 or the person's name when politeness matters. 喂 is informal; you'd never use it to greet a customer at the start of a meeting in person. The character 喂 has a second, totally different sense in tone wéi or wèi: 'to feed' (an animal or person). At HSK 1, you only need the 'hello / hey' meaning.
Note: 喂 is informal. On the phone, it's universal and neutral, but in face-to-face use ('hey, you!') it can sound abrupt or rude. Soften with 你好 or the person's name when in doubt.
Example sentences
喂，你好，请问是李老师吗？
Wèi, nǐ hǎo, qǐng wèn shì Lǐ lǎoshī ma?
Hello, may I ask, is this Teacher Li?
spoken, polite (phone)
喂，妈，我到家了。
Wèi, mā, wǒ dào jiā le.
Hi Mom, I got home.
spoken (phone)
喂！等等我！
Wèi! Děng děng wǒ!
Hey! Wait for me!
spoken, casual
喂，你听得见吗？
Wèi, nǐ tīng de jiàn ma?
Hello, can you hear me?
spoken (phone)
Common phrases with 喂
Synonyms
你好 is the neutral hello for face-to-face meetings and works on the phone too, but on the phone 喂 is more natural as the first sound. Many speakers chain them: 喂，你好? (answering with 'hello? hi'). Use 你好 in person; 喂 on the phone.
嘿 ('hey') is casual face-to-face attention-getting between friends. 喂 sounds more abrupt or even rude in person; 嘿 is the friendlier face-to-face equivalent.
Don't confuse 喂 with
FAQ
Acquire it by listening
Meet 喂 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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