おい

お

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 1,000

Meanings

familiar languagemale term, language, or name

Casual, often masculine interjection used to get someone's attention, express surprise, or urge action. Can sound rough or familiar.

Only with reading おい

Kansai dialect first-person pronoun. Used mainly by men in casual settings. Equivalent to standard 俺 or 僕.

おい、〈人ひと〉used to call out directly to someone
おい、田た中なか、ちょっと来きて。
Hey, Tanaka, come here for a sec.
おい、〈動どう詞し〉used to urge or stop someone from doing something
おい、待まてよ。
Hey, wait!

姉ねえ sense 1
ねえ is a softer, gender-neutral way to get someone's attention, while おい sounds rougher and is typically used by men.
俺おれN1sense 2
俺 is the standard masculine first-person pronoun, while おい is its casual Kansai-dialect equivalent used mainly by men.
こら sense 1
こら is a sharper, scolding call used to reprimand someone, whereas おい is a more general way to call out or express surprise.
これN5
おい is the more common, slightly rougher way to call attention, while これ can sound more impatient or scolding.

Show 7 more

ほら
おい is a rougher, masculine way to call someone's attention, while ほら is softer and used more generally to point something out.
ヘイ
おい is a more forceful, sometimes rude way to call out, while ヘイ is lighter and friendlier.
おおいN1
おおい is a drawn-out call used to get someone's attention from a distance, while おい is a shorter, sharper call used at close range or casually.
おいおい
おい is a single, sharp call for attention, while おいおい is softer and doubled, often adding a note of surprise or a request to wait.
どら
おい is a common, neutral way to call someone's attention, while どら is rougher and much less frequently used as an interjection.
よー
おい is a blunter, often male-associated call for attention, whereas よー sounds friendlier and is used more casually among peers of any gender.
ああ
おい is a rougher, more insistent call for attention than the milder ああ used as 'hey'.

おいUsage94%
Standard hiragana spelling for both the interjection and the Kansai dialect pronoun.
オイUsage6%
Katakana spelling sometimes used for emphasis or in casual writing, especially for the interjection.

The interjection is of native origin, likely from a natural exclamation. The Kansai pronoun is a dialectal variant of 俺 (おれ).