To get someone’s attention politely you say すみません; with friends, ねえ. おい is the rough, mostly male “hey!”, and in comedy it starts the comeback: おいおいおい = “whoa, whoa, whoa”.
Rough. Calling a stranger おい is rude; between friends it is a jab.
One person says they met 'the most beautiful thing in this world', and the other asks what it is.
Culture note In Japan, shady religious groups are infamous for pressuring people to buy overpriced 'spiritual' pots.
Hey!
Textbookちょっと、すみません。'おい' is a blunt call-out used with equals or juniors; the polite way to grab attention or object is 'すみません' or 'ちょっと'.
In a gangster boss-and-underling sketch, one of them is groaning and cursing while the other starts doing something strange.
Hey!
Textbookちょっと、すみません。Instead of a polite "すみません" to get attention, the speaker shouts a blunt "おい"—used toward equals or juniors, often in anger.
After cries of pain, someone starts shouting at a person who seems to be hiding.
Hey!
Textbookすみません！「おい」 is a blunt, rough call for attention, 'Hey!'. Polite speech uses 「すみません」 instead; never say 「おい」 to a superior.
A machine won't work, and one man pushes someone aside to deal with it himself.
Hey!
Textbookすみません。Instead of polite "すみません" to get attention, "おい" is a blunt bark—here shouted at a machine.
From other routines in the library. Automatic transcripts, not yet checked line by line.
おい means “hey!”. To get someone’s attention politely you say すみません; with friends, ねえ. おい is the rough, mostly male “hey!”, and in comedy it starts the comeback: おいおいおい = “whoa, whoa, whoa”.
With friends: OK. With coworkers: avoid. With a boss or teacher: avoid. Rough. Calling a stranger おい is rude; between friends it is a jab.
In 1,905 live comedy routines, おい appears in 634 lines from 150 comedians.