hein

From Middle Dutch hein, from the verb heinen (“to physically demarcate lands”) (modern heinen, also omheinen).

hein m (plural heinen, diminutive heintje n)

1. physical demarcation between fields or yards, like a fence, wall or ditch

• haag, heg, hagen, behagen, omhagen
• heinen, heining, omheinen, omheining

hein m (plural heinen, diminutive heintje n)

1. skinny person
2. skinny horse
3. personification of death

• Magere Hein

From Proto-Finnic *haina, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *śaina-. Cognate with Lithuanian šienas, Proto-Slavic *sěno.

hein (genitive heina, partitive heina)

1. hay

• kastehein
• heinakuu

hein

1. instructive plural of he (“a letter in some Semitic alphabets”)

• hien

From earlier hen, heim, from Latin hem (“eh?”).

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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hein

1. huh, hey, eh
   • 1968, Serge Gainsbourg, “Bonnie and Clyde”, in Initials B.B., performed by Serge Gainsbourg ft. Brigitte Bardot:

     Ça vous a plu, hein ? Vous en d'mandez encore / Eh bien, écoutez l'histoire de Bonnie and Clyde

     You liked it, did you? You want more / Well then, listen to the story of Bonnie and Clyde

• “hein”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

From Proto-Finnic *haina.

hein

1. hay

• ᚺᛡᛁᚾ (ʜᴀin)

Inherited from Proto-Norse *ᚺᚨᛁᚾᚢ (*hainu). Cognate with Old English hān (English hone).

hein

1. whetstone

• Icelandic: hein, heini

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “hein”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• “hein” in Dictionary of Old Norse Prose (ONP) at University of Copenhagen

• hem (dated)
• eim, heim (rare)
• em (misspelling)

Inherited from Latin hem (“eh?”). Compare French hein.

• Homophone: em (Brazil)

hein?

1. (Brazil) huh? hm? (reinforces a question)

   Onde é que você estava, hein? ― Where were you?

   Qual foi? Hein? ― What’s your problem? Hmm?

2. (Brazil, at the end of a sentence) huh? eh? (creates a tag question)

   Synonyms: né?, foi?

   Então você gostou, hein? ― So you liked it, eh?

3. (Brazil, only by itself) huh? (expresses confusion)

   Synonym: hã?

   Hein? Ela fez o quê?! ― Huh? She did what?!

4. (Brazil, only by itself) huh? (used when one didn’t hear something)

   Synonyms: hã?, como?, oi?

   Hein? Fala mais alto. ― Huh? Speak up.

The spelling hein was abandoned with the first spelling reforms of Portuguese in favor of hem, presumably for faithfulness to etymology. However, this spelling is no longer proscribed and presently the most common spelling for the interjection; many new editions of 20th-century works have restored it.

• eu, hein

• “hein”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “hein”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

From Proto-Finnic *haina.

hein

1. grass
2. hay

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “сено, трава”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[1], Petrozavodsk: Periodika