Just for Fun/Hello

""Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.""

- The Princess Bride

Trope Namer is Real Life. Obviously.

Fun fact: "Hello" (or "hullo") used to be an expression of surprise or questioning (as in "Hullo, what's this?") until around the turn of the 20th century when it became the standard expression for answering the telephone. The modern use and spelling was "invented" by Thomas Edison; the first use of it with modern spelling was as a greeting in a letter from him to Alexander Graham Bell in 1887. (This would have been the rather nautical "Ahoy-hoy!" if Graham Bell had his way. Mr. Burns would approve.) From there it went on to become the catch-all greeting it is today. In French, "Bonjour", "Salut" & "Allo". In Japan, they say "Konnichiwa" or (on the phone) "Moshi moshi" (which has a similar quirky origin story). However, lots of countries do include some variant of "Hello" or "Allo" even if only for answering the phone. Interestingly, the German "Hallo" is still also used to express surprise or disbelief, but it's probably more likely in Austria than in Germany.

Related tropes include Crash Into Hello, Hello, Nurse!, Hello, Sailor!, Stealth Hi Bye, Click Hello, Twang! "Hello.", Incoming Ham, and numerous others.

Contrast Goodbye.

Advertising
"The man your man could smell like."
 * Hello, ladies. Look at me, now back to your monitor, now back to me, now back to your monitor. Sadly, I'm not on your monitor. Look down, back up. I'm on a webpage.

Anime & Manga
" Yomi: "Yello, Kagura~""
 * Ga-Rei Zero gives us this gem (no pun intended):

"Chiyo's dad: "HALLO, EVERY-NYAN! HOW AH YUU? FAIN SANKYUU!""
 * Azumanga Daioh


 * Mr. Popo

Film
" "Hello. My Name Is Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare to Die.""
 * Used in The Princess Bride:


 * The primary reason this page exists is to make that phrase all blue.

""Hi, Christopher, I'm Nero.""
 * In Day of the Dead, the group regularly fly out on a helicopter, set down and shout HELLO through a megaphone. Seems to be their whole search method for survivors. That and calling on the radio, but the ones they have are in poor condition and don't have the range.
 * In 28 Days Later Jim wandered through the deserted London shouting hello and would say it whenever he entered a building, searching for survivors. It became his catchphrase as this situation became more apparent and his naiveté began to evaporate, fast. At the end of the film
 * In 2009's Star Trek, after the USS Kelvin is overpowered and nearly destroyed by the mysterious black ship, Ayel hails them, calmly beginning the message with, "Hello..."
 * Ayel's captain is similarly friendly and informal when hailing the Enterprise:


 * Don't forget old Obi-Wan's "Hello there..." in A New Hope towards R2-D2. He did it before when he confronts General Grievous
 * Tony Montana: "Say hello to my little friend!"
 * The fact that "hello" can turn into "hell" crops up:
 * Motel Hell is a comedy horror movie centering around Motel Hello, which has a faulty neon letter.
 * In Batman Returns, Catwoman smashes her "Hello There" sign, removing the 'o' and 'T'.

Literature

 * In Slaughterhouse-Five, the standard greeting among Tralfamdorians, who see all of time at once and as unchangeable, is "Goodbye. Hello. Goodbye. Hello."
 * Another example from weird science fiction: In Philip K. Dick's Counter-Clock World, time is running backwards, so people say "Goodbye" when they meet and "Hello" when they part. This becomes sad and poignant when the protagonist gets a call from  ends the conversation by saying "Hello."
 * Lord of the Rings: The standard Orcish greeting is "Ashdautas Vrasubatlat" -- "Someday I will kill you", the usual reply is "Nar Udautas" -- "Not today".

Live Action TV
""Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically... run.""
 * The Three Stooges would answer the phone as if they were a barbershop quartet.
 * According to Look Around You's "Maths" episode, the numeral 3 equals "hello" in the "language of numbers." Also, on the show's periodic table, "Hello" (atomic symbol "Hi") can be found in place of selenium.
 * On a certain episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Voice", the titular character mocks his girlfriend's nighttime stomach gurgling with a loud, booming voice, bellowing "HELLOOOOO...la la laaaa"
 * In Doctor Who, after the Doctor recently regenerates into his eleventh incarnation, he drives away invading Atraxi with the following words in "The Eleventh Hour", after they discover that his previous incarnations are responsible for the defeat of hundreds of past Earth invaders.

"Will: For example, what do you guys say when you pick up the phone?
 * The Glee episode "Hell-O" covers this trope quite well. It even features several of the songs listed below and a reference to the origin of the term as described above.
 * It also parodied the standard "hello" greeting used on the phone:

Mercedes: "What up?"

Artie: "Who 'dis be?"

Kurt: "No, she's dead, this is her son.""

"Alan: Stephen, what was the last thing that made you go "Hello?"
 * In an episode of Modern Family Cameron says that unlike his partner Mitchell who had to convince his parents that he was gay, his mother knew he was the minute he came out of the womb saying "He-lllllllooooo!"
 * Allo, Allo, zis is Nighthawk...
 * Tommy Cockles's catchphrase on The Fast Show. Unfortunate when he was cast as 'Third Nazi' (a "role I made my own incidentally") in a wartime propaganda film: First Nazi: "Sieg heil!" Second Nazi: "Sieg heil!" Third Nazi: "Hello there!"
 *  HELLO!!   ...WHAT?? ...NAH, I'M JUST EXPLAINING THAT THIS TROPE WAS USED BY THE "ANNOYING PHONE GUY" IN Trigger Happy TV. ...NAH, IT'S RUBBISH.   CIAO!!! 
 * Arrested Development had Annyong. Which becomes even funnier when in the last episode we learn his real name is.
 * Only James May could make this one word the funniest thing ever.
 * They covered the origin story of the word in one episode of QI, in which Stephen Fry was mocked for still using it in the surprised sense of "Hello, what's this?"

Stephen: It was a genital wart."


 * "Hello, Dexter Morgan."
 * Rimmer in Red Dwarf has a ... complex theory about how aliens might say this.

Music

 * Hello, is there anybody in there? (Just nod if you can hear me...)
 * Marc Almond's "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye."
 * Eric Clapton's "Hello Old Friend."
 * "Hello, Ma Baby," the ragtime telephone song. Most people nowadays know this as the song of a dancing frog and/or a ChestBurster.
 * "Hello Goodbye," by The Beatles.
 * Hello, Darkness, my old friend.
 * Both The Doors and Roger Waters had songs called, "Hello, I Love You."
 * Waters is also co-writer of "Comfortably Numb", referenced atop this page.
 * "Hello, is it me you're looking for?"
 * And then he was run over by a tank.
 * Hello, it's me. I've thought about us for a long, long time.
 * Hello! HOORAY!
 * Hello, hello, hello, how low?
 * How the first Public Image Ltd album begins, with the echoing "Hello, Hello, Hello hello, Hello, Hello, ha ha ha!"
 * Hello, hello (HOLA!) I'm at a place called Vertigo!
 * Hello? Helloooo? Is anybody out there? HELLLOOOO!?!
 * [Cough] Should be noted that's a soundclip from Day of the Dead at the beginning of "M1 A1". Then the actual music proper kicks in. It's scary first, and then unmitigated awesome.
 * Hello there, ladies and gentlemen/Hello there, ladies and gents/Are you ready to rock?/Are you ready or not?
 * "Hello Darkness...Hello Sunshine...Hello Not-at-all...Hello All-the-time...Hello Nowhere...Hello Oblivion, Hello Goodbye..."
 * From the same song: "Hello end of the world! How are you? I'm fine."
 * Hello, hello, baby, you called, I can't hear a thing. I have got no service in the club, you see.
 * Hello, how are you? Let me explain one thing... (From "Master Passion Greed")
 * Hello.
 * Hello, I'm still here...
 * Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name?
 * Helloooooo, I love you... Is there anybody in there?
 * Hello, how are you? How have you been?
 * Hello, how are you lately? If you're ok, that's fine.
 * Ferry Corsten's Passport United States of America mix features a track called "Hello (Original Mix)" by Poison Pro. Appropriately enough, it's the first track on the mix.
 * "Hello, Dad. Hello, Mom. I'm a Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-CHERRY BOMB!"
 * 'Hello, again, hello. Just called to say "Hello".' --Neil Diamond, 'Hello Again'
 * "Hello. I'm Johnny Cash."
 * Also, "MY NAME IS SUE! HOW DO YOU DO?! NOW YER GOINNA DIE!!!"
 * "Hello" by Australian group The Potbelleez.
 * Devo's album "Oh No! It's Devo" begins with a simple sequencer line, then: "Hello...this is...Devo." Then "Time Out for Fun" starts.
 * "I just came to say hello." Martin Solveig & Dragonette
 * "Hello./It's me again./Plain to see again./Please, can I see you every day?"
 * "Hello, you fool, I love you. Come on, join the joyriiiiiiiiide..."

Other

 * The ever-popular "Hello, World!" program, often considered a newbie's introduction to serious scripting.
 * Virgin Mobile cell phones, whenever you turn them on, print to the screen, 'Hello' in a style appropriate to the phone before showing the Virgin Mobile logo, from the same font as they have on their website on higher-end Android phones, to Impact-Bold all-caps display on their low-end Kyocera Jax model.
 * When the LG Aloha starts up, it doesn't say HELLO; it says ALOHA.
 * Some CD and DVD players display "Hello" or "hEllO" on their displays when powered on.

Professional Wrestling

 * Val Venis: Hello Ladies

Radio

 * Catch Phrase of Clyde Gilmour, late host of the CBC classical radio show Gilmour's Albums - a warm, avuncular "Hello!" at the beginning of each broadcast. A parody show portrayed him singing The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye."
 * Dead Ringers: "HELLO! I'M Brian Blessed! WITH AN APPEAL! ON BEHALF! OF THE DEAF!!!"

Theatre

 * The title song of Hello, Dolly! (obviously).
 * In Bells Are Ringing, Ella starts introducing New York Subway riders to each other, and the Crowd Song "Hello, Hello There" ensues.
 * Averted in Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the first line of the play could have been "Hello?" but instead was "Who's there?"
 * "Please Hello" from Pacific Overtures.

Videogames
"Hello. We are gathered here today to do battle. Regrettable, isn't it? I didn't want to be here myself, but my grandmother told me that I better make a good show out of it. So here it goes."
 * "Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center."
 * "Hello? Is anyone there? There you are. I don't hate you."
 * "Oh, Hey! You're the lady from the test! Hi!"
 * Both times, G La DOS wasn't happy.
 * In the second game as well, Wheatley pulls this right after
 * In Rome: Total War, the content of your general's pre-battle speech is influenced by his reputation. Most of the speeches of Roman generals are strings of loud, gung-ho rallying cries. However, if your general is known as a tedious public speaker, there's a chance you will be treated to an almost inaudibly soft-spoken speech that goes something like this:
 * In Rome: Total War, the content of your general's pre-battle speech is influenced by his reputation. Most of the speeches of Roman generals are strings of loud, gung-ho rallying cries. However, if your general is known as a tedious public speaker, there's a chance you will be treated to an almost inaudibly soft-spoken speech that goes something like this:


 * The Imperial Guard Ogryn in Dawn of War will sometimes say "Hull-lo!" when clicking on them, rather than the myriad permutations of "Yes sir!" that the normal Guardsmen use.

Webcomics

 * Also used in the Order of the Stick parody of the phrase. Check out panel five.

Web Original
"Homestar: "Hello! Yellow! Dello!""
 * Hello.jpg was the name of the infamous image from goatse.cx.
 * Homestar Runner does this in a Shout-Out to The Three Stooges in "The Search for the Yellow Dello:"


 * "Oh, hello ], didn't hear you come in. Greetings and welcome to Ask That Guy With The Glasses."
 * "Hello, I'm The Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to."
 * "Hello and welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn."
 * "HELLO THERE! I am Doctor Rabbit!"
 * bebeep; bebeep; beboop; hello!

Western Animation
"Eddy: (under his breath, telling Ed what he's supposed to say) Ladies and gentlemen...
 * When Eddy reluctantly lets Cloudcuckoolander Ed advertise En-O-Gee drinks in Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy, the following occurs:

Ed: LADIES AND GENTLE-HEADS!

Eddy: ...come buy a delicious...

Ed: COME BUY A DECIDUOUS... uh...

Eddy: ...En-O-Gee Drink.

Ed: HELLO!"


 * In a later episode of Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy Rolf is showing off with a soccer ball while repeatedly saying, "Hello, goodbye."
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender "Hello. Zuko here."
 * Even cuter version.
 * Elmer Fudd says 'Hewwo' in a few Looney Tunes cartoons.
 * The Simpsons
 * Homer Simpson pronounces it "Y'ello". On one episode set in France, he answers the phone "Ye-bonjour".
 * Truth in Television. "Y'ello" is a common phone greeting. It's a contraction of "Yes?" and "Hello", the 2 most common phone greetings.
 * As mentioned above, Mr. Burns uses the more antiquated "Ahoy-hoy".
 * Team America: World Police: Kim Jong-Il would like to say "Herro."
 * Megamind: "Ollo?"
 * One Froggy Evening Cartoon: "Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal..."
 * In South Park, Chef's Catch Phrase is is a jolly "Hello there, children!"
 * Dragon Tales has a Dragon Tune song called "Hello" encouraging viewers to "Get up off your feet and to everyone you meet say hello, hello, hello!"

Real Life

 * Real Life Aversion: there are actually people out there who shun the word "Hello" because of the "Hell" part, and say "Heaveno" instead.
 * Some alternative alternatives:
 * Hey and Hey Hey! (not to be confused with "Hey, hey, hey!".)
 * Hi
 * Hola
 * G'day
 * Hey There
 * Yo
 * Howdy
 * 'Sup?
 * (People who think they are important) Yes?
 * And many more...
 * Punny Stuff: Hell-low. Yeah, it's lame.
 * Averted in Italian, where people say "Pronto!" ("Ready!") at the telephone.
 * A number of languages have special greetings just for the phone.
 * Mexicans say "Bueno", which is short for "buenos dias".
 * The rest of Spanish-speaking South America says "Aló".
 * And in Spain, if the speaker doesn't know who's on the other line, they often say "Díme" or "Dígame" literally "tell me" or "say it to me."
 * The Japanese seem to use "moshi moshi" exclusively for telephones.
 * German speakers sometimes say "Tag!", which translates to "day". The reason for this is that it's short for "Guten Tag!" which means "Good day!"
 * "Hello" is sometimes used by Germans to mean "Duh!" (semantically equivalent to knocking on someone's head and saying "Is there anybody in here?")
 * Then again, Americans and British do that, too.

Good bye.