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I know it's a way of greeting someone, but I am not so sure when should I be using it, and how they differ from "hey" or "hi".

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It's a personal preference. Both "hi there" and "hi" are informal greetings that can be used interchangeably. That being said, I rarely (if ever) hear someone use "hey there" or "hi there". I would say that those forms have fallen into relative disuse.

If you happen to be a Mouseketeer in the 1950's, you may not have a choice in the matter.

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  • +1: For the Mouseketeer reference, but you left out "Ho there"! Don't leave me hangin', bro!
    – Robusto
    Mar 5, 2011 at 0:59
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    I still hear these expansions a lot, and see them a good deal more in emails/IM, maybe it has not died out everywhere.
    – Orbling
    Mar 5, 2011 at 1:00
  • @Robusto I also can't help but think of 'Bob' from "That 70's Show".
    – robert_x44
    Mar 5, 2011 at 1:00
  • Going to take a risk here by adding that my own informal observation tells me that females prefer to use "Hey .." compared to "Hi .." Not sure why. Anyone can confirm or disprove this observation?
    – Kim Stacks
    Mar 5, 2011 at 4:36
  • Hey there! :D I use "Hey there!" almost everyday when meeting someone.
    – Edwin Pratt
    Jan 8, 2021 at 20:18

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