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Alisa Morgunova
Hi yourself: rudeness or not?
One day a friend of mine greeted me saying "hi", so I greeted him back saying "hi yourself": just tired of saying "hi" and "hello" every time and wanted to greet my friend a very different way. Then he asked if I have a problem; he probably considered such a greeting as rude. Was he right? Is "hi yourself" really impolite?
I'll appreciate you just answering the question. :)
Jan 27, 2019 6:18 AM
Answers · 7
New Zealand English (Closer to British English)
.
Impolite: no.
With agressive tone: maybe.
Normal use would be as you intended it. Jovial & more interesting than "hi".
.
Rather like take care of yourself.
.
With a different tone., it could indeed be taken to be saying that the person should not have said that.
Imaging saying
It is not my job: Do it yourself!
.
Seems the interpretation might be regional.
January 27, 2019
Thank you all for help!
January 27, 2019
I agree with John. As John suggests, it sounds confusing at best and many (most ?) will think it rude or flippant. No native speaker would say it where I am.
January 27, 2019
I'm sure you meant "yourself" as "to you too" but he probably thought you meant "Go say hi to yourself" or something, LOL! Hope he cleared the misunderstanding... I usually say "Yo!" so maybe you can use that too if you want a new greeting haha 😂
January 27, 2019
I could see how it might be taken as rude or flippant. It doesn't have a clear meaning to me as a native speaker in the U.S., so I wouldn't recommend it; it could cause confusion or misunderstanding.
January 27, 2019
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Alisa Morgunova
Language Skills
Belarusian, English, Polish, Russian
Learning Language
English
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