thumb|right|Sign greeting visitors to [[Nordhastedt, Schleswig-Holstein.]]
Moin, moi or mojn ; is a Low German, Frisian, High German ( or ), Danish () () greeting from East Frisia, Northern Germany, the eastern and northern Netherlands, Southern Jutland in Denmark and parts of Kashubia in northern Poland. The greeting is also used in Finnish.
It means "hello" and, in some places, "goodbye" too.
Usage
thumb|right|Banner greeting visitors to the [[Lower Saxony|Lower Saxon Ministry for Environment, Energy, and Climate Protection]]
Moin is used at all times of day, not just in the morning (see Etymology section below). The reduplicated form moin moin is often heard, although some authors claim it is regarded by locals as tourists' usage.
Etymology
Due to the similarity of the words one might think that moin derives from various regional pronunciations of ("good morning"), which tend to alter, vocalise, or skip rg. However, the word may actually also derive from the Dutch, Frisian, and Low German word , meaning "beautiful" or "good". However, is used as a good bye, similarly to "bye bye" in English, even with a similar intonation. Both are particularly typical of Southwestern Finnish, but through internal migration spread to the capital and with the help of TV to the rest of the language area. 's use is identical to that of : diminutive forms and , and duplication as a good bye.
is found in some parts of Finland and has also been used in the same way as . It is theorised that it comes from Tampere due to its large number of foreign workers and like has been borrowed from morrow and abbreviated.
is also used in Dutch Low Saxon dialects in the eastern part of the provinces Groningen and Drenthe.
See also
- MoinMoin (wiki software named after the greeting)
References
stq:Moin