A casual way to say Hey in Cantonese

Meeting friends in Hong Kong? Hanging out at a Cantonese restaurant? You don’t always have to say 你好 nei5 hou2, especially to people you are familiar with. In most informal situations, we will simply say 喂 wai3, which means “Hey.”

喂 wai3

“Hey”

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When answering the phone, 喂 wai3 changes from the third tone to the second tone 喂 wai2  with a rising intonation.