Is it too girlish or childish for a man to say. How are you doing? i haven't seen you since the funeral — how are you doing?. 'hey' ( perhaps originally a natural expression) appears to be at the origin of 'hi', while 'hello' seems to have no connection with the previous two terms and a different origin.
I am not a native speaker. Hey, haven't seen you in ages! How are you? versus sorry to hear about the diagnosis.
It seems like the correct spelling is “but, hey,” however, especially when followed by a clause, the pauses (perhaps) become excessive and the comma is frequently dropped. I really want to know what's the difference between hi and hey in writing an email? 天天在我耳边说 man, man, what can i say,问他是什么意思又不说。 It can be used as either a pithy bon mot to jostle a friend, or a snide comment to completely distract and put off a mere.