“Hey there buddy! Daddy missed you.”

English Lesson: Hey there buddy! Daddy missed you.

You were away for a few days on a trip for work. You've just come home. Your four-year-old son is glad to see you, and you're glad to see him too.

Hey there buddy! Daddy missed you.

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Hey there!

"Hey there" is one casual and friendly way to say "hello".

Here are a few situations in which you can say "Hey there" to greet someone:

  • You're at a concert. You see someone that you work with, but you can't remember her name. You say "Hey there" when you walk by her.
  • You're fishing on a small lake. A family rows by you in a row boat. You say "Hey there" and smile at them.
  • You're friendly with one of the people who works at the local market. When you see him working there, you say "Hey there."

buddy

"Buddy" is a name that you can call someone instead of their real name. The word "buddy" means "friend".

English speakers mostly use "buddy" when talking to a younger man. Here are some specific relationships in which someone might call someone else "buddy":

  • Fathers, uncles, grandfathers, etc. often call their sons, nephews, and grandsons "buddy" from young childhood until their teenage years, and sometimes longer.
  • Male friends who are similar ages sometimes call each other "buddy".

When you call a stranger "buddy", it's just a little bit rude and aggressive. For example, if a man is taking a long time to get a ticket at an automatic ticket machine in front of you, you might say this if you get really frustrated:

Hey buddy, can you speed it up?

Daddy

"Daddy" is the name that many young children call their fathers. They start to use the name "Daddy" at about 2-3 years old and keep using it until about age 10-13. As children get older, they start to use the name "Dad" instead of "Daddy".

When parents speak to very young children, from 0-5 years, they often speak about themselves as "Daddy" or "Mommy" instead of using "I" and "me". For example:

Daddy doesn't like it when you throw your toys.

Of course, there's a lot of variation from family to family in what children call their parents and how parents refer to themselves.