Definition
喂 (wèi) is the standard interjection for answering the phone in Chinese — like saying 'hello?' when you pick up. It's also used to call someone's attention ('hey!'), but for that purpose 哎 (āi) and 嘿 (hēi) are more common in casual speech. 喂 is neutral and widely understood.
interjection
hey! hello? (used to attract attention or answer a phone call)
Easily confused
- 为wéisound-alike(preposition) as; in the capacity of
- 为wéisound-aliketo act as, to serve as (in patterns like 以...为..., 称为, 选为)
- 为wéisound-alike(preposition) as, in the capacity of
- 位wèisound-alike(classifier, polite) for people
- 未wèisound-alikenot yet; have not; did not (formal/literary negation placed before a verb)
- 唯wéisound-alikeonly, alone
- 味wèisound-aliketaste, flavor
- 围wéisound-aliketo surround, to encircle
- 胃wèisound-alikestomach
- 微wēisound-alikeslightly; a little bit
Examples
- 喂，？wèi, nǐ zài ma?Hey, are you there?
- 喂，？wèi, nǐ shì Lǐ lǎoshī ma?Hello, are you Teacher Li?
- 喂，！wèi, lái chīfàn!Hey, come eat!
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