What's the difference between おい and ねえ?


I saw this question, [How is おい
used?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/30236/how-
is-%E3%81%8A%E3%81%84-used), but I don't think this would be a duplicate of
any existing question yet.

There, they say that おい is a curt "hey" or "yo" that can come across strongly.
But since I'm still fairly new to Japanese, the most memorable instance of おい
I can recall is [Link's little
sister](http://i2.cdnds.net/13/32/618x347/gaming-legend-of-zelda-wind-walker-
hd-screenshot-6.jpg) from The Wind Waker.

Similarly, I'm most familiar with ねえ from
[music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-rwuVQJHcE) (this is just my favorite
artist and one of his songs that uses ねえ). It seems to just mean "hey" like it
would in English.

However, it'd be nice to have a contextual contrast of how these are actually
used beyond anime, music, and video games. Could you explain what their
differences are?




Stopping a total stranger in the real world using おい is out of the question,
as I mentioned in the existing answer. In fiction, you may often see tough
guys and impertinent characters use おい as the very first word they utter.

But when it comes to おい used between friends or family members, that's another
story. It's more like "wait", "hey" or "come on" used when someone said
something funny. おいおい sounds like "come on" or "gimme a break." It may still
sound a bit tomboyish for a fictional girl.

And a loud おーい used to attract attention from a distance is not particularly
impolite, either. That's just "hey" or "hello". You can say "おーい、誰かいるか！"
("Hello! Is anybody there!?") looking into a deep and dark well.

I don't know how the little sister usually speaks. If you can cite the exact
line including おい, I may tell which kind of おい it is.

ねえ as an interjection tends to be preferred by females and children, and it
means "listen" (as the starter of a conversation), "please", or "yeah" (as a
sign of agreement). It's never used to stop a person on the street. I can't
think of a situation where ねえ and おい are interchangeable.




Stopping a total stranger in the real world using おい is out of the question,
as I mentioned in the existing answer. In fiction, you may often see tough
guys and impertinent characters use おい as the very first word they utter.

But when it comes to おい used between friends or family members, that's another
story. It's more like "wait", "hey" or "come on" used when someone said
something funny. おいおい sounds like "come on" or "gimme a break." It may still
sound a bit tomboyish for a fictional girl.

And a loud おーい used to attract attention from a distance is not particularly
impolite, either. That's just "hey" or "hello". You can say "おーい、誰かいるか！"
("Hello! Is anybody there!?") looking into a deep and dark well.

I don't know how the little sister usually speaks. If you can cite the exact
line including おい, I may tell which kind of おい it is.

ねえ as an interjection tends to be preferred by females and children, and it
means "listen" (as the starter of a conversation), "please", or "yeah" (as a
sign of agreement). It's never used to stop a person on the street. I can't
think of a situation where ねえ and おい are interchangeable.

