interjection N4 common casual
おい — hey!
おい
Meaning
- hey! / oi — a blunt shout to get someone's attention or to protest
Key sentence
おい、待てよ。
Hey, wait up.
Usage
Rough and casual — used almost only by men, toward someone of equal or lower status, or to register surprise/objection at what was just said. Rude to a superior; use すみません or あの instead.
Examples
おい、どこ行くんだ。
Hey, where are you going?
「全部お前のせいだ」「おい、ちょっと待て。」
"It's all your fault." "Hey, hold on a second."
おい、大丈夫か。
Hey, you okay?
Notes
- Lengthened to おーい, it becomes a long-distance call ('heeey, over here!'). Politer attention-getters are すみません, あの, and ちょっと.
See おい in real sentences
Jengo shows おい the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.