Hai

-interjection Hai is a colloquialism used mainly in north western parts of Ireland especially in counties Monaghan, Cavan, Roscommon, Mayo and Galway. An Irish cult TV show, Hardy Bucks, has served to spread the use of this once localized colloquialism throughout most of the country of Ireland and in small pockets of London, Germany, Holland and the Middle East. ‘Hai’ is actually the word 'Hey' and is used as an exclamation to call attention or to express pleasure, surprise, bewilderment, etc. However, due to the nature of the western Irish accent, the listener interprets the spelling as ‘Hai’. The word is usually used as the final word of a sentence. It can be used in almost every context and situation but is most effective when used to conclude a question.