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Original poster

How is the word "Hen" used?

76 replies

deargoop · 11/12/2023 15:10

Is the word Hen typically used by women for other women? Is it used mainly by older women when talking to a younger woman or girl or can it be used for women of any age? Is it a term that men use for women?

I am not Scottish but currently living in Glasgow.

OP posts:
PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 12/12/2023 19:26

@AgnesX sorry that’s been your experience. It just means ‘girl’ where I grew up.

AgnesX · 12/12/2023 19:33

PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 12/12/2023 19:26

@AgnesX sorry that’s been your experience. It just means ‘girl’ where I grew up.

In Glasgow most things can be sarcastic, not a place to be too up yourself 😁

WhereIsBebèsChambre · 12/12/2023 19:39

Toottooot · 11/12/2023 15:34

Just don’t use it if you venture out of Glasgow. Nae appreciated up in Aiberdeen.

Fit like quine? @Toottooot

Toottooot · 12/12/2023 20:22

Wifie is affa common up Aiberdeen way. Aye aye wifie as a greeting to someone or just a way to describe a woman. At school our teachers were commonly wifie/mannie surname rather than mr/mrs.

PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 12/12/2023 20:29

Indeed @Toottooot , that day when you graduate from being a Quine to a wifie is a hard transition.
i am definitely a wifie now 😱

ArsenicInTheAppleTart · 12/12/2023 20:32

I always imagine proper wifies wearing a head scarf tied under their chin.

How is the word "Hen" used?
WheeshtYaBam · 12/12/2023 20:39

BigBoysDontCry · 11/12/2023 15:50

Grew up with the rhyme "if I'm a hen then you're a duck, I lay eggs and you lay muck".

Doesnt actually make sense to be fair but was the standard response to be being called hen when I was a bairn.

Similar - we used to say "if I'm a hen then you're a duck, use my name or git tae fuck" 🤣🤣

PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 12/12/2023 20:39

😂😂😂

rickyrickygrimes · 12/12/2023 20:42

Not uncommon in Dundee too.

having said that, I’ve never used it.

BigBoysDontCry · 12/12/2023 20:55

WheeshtYaBam · 12/12/2023 20:39

Similar - we used to say "if I'm a hen then you're a duck, use my name or git tae fuck" 🤣🤣

Show quote history

Love it!

Ifailed · 12/12/2023 21:04

I would say it is more a working class way of describing someone and it would make me cringe so hard if I heard an English person using it.

Why?

Gingerkittykat · 12/12/2023 22:02

I would cringe because it was not part of their natural speech pattern and it would seem false.

Sugarfree23 · 12/12/2023 23:39

PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 12/12/2023 20:29

Indeed @Toottooot , that day when you graduate from being a Quine to a wifie is a hard transition.
i am definitely a wifie now 😱

😂You've brought back memories of the day two wee kids shouted "Hey Misses wits the time?" Honestly I think I was about 16 or 17.

CoatOfArms · 13/12/2023 08:48

I don't hear it nearly as much as I did growing up, which is a good thing. I put it in the same (awful) category as referring to your children as "the bairns" or "the weans".

Sugarfree23 · 13/12/2023 08:53

It's definitely not in the same category as calling children, kids, weans or bairns.

I never liked Hen as a child and their are various versions of the 'if I'm a Hen...' rhymes so it must have been rebelled against by the next generation.

I've never heard weans, kids, or bairns being objected too.

MaggieFS · 13/12/2023 09:11

ArsenicInTheAppleTart · 12/12/2023 20:32

I always imagine proper wifies wearing a head scarf tied under their chin.

Yes exactly! My Granny always used to talk about wifies, and that's exactly the picture I had in mind when I first say it mentioned higher up by pp.

EvelynBeatrice · 13/12/2023 14:47

And what about 'Mistress'? I seem to recall older gentleman using the term Mistress in Aberdeenshire when addressing a married lady. 'And how are you today Mistress ,, it's gye cold oot '

Sugarfree23 · 13/12/2023 16:30

OMG 😲 Mistress, imagine being called that that's 100x worse than Hen. And reminds me of the words written on a School desk.

What's a Mistress?
Something between a Mister
and a Mattress

platinumplus · 13/12/2023 16:58

HerMammy · 11/12/2023 22:20

Im a Glaswegian and tbh if you're not Scottish you'll sound a bit try hard not sweet, likely to get a few odd looks 🤣

Totally this.

I've literally never heard a non Scottish person say hen. Even thinking about it just makes me cringe. But...you do you.

ELCismyspiritnana · 13/12/2023 17:09

Still common in and around Edinburgh for people I know. I don't use it as am not Scottish, but I like hearing it.
Only time I object is if its a youngster calling me it. For some reason I feel like it's a bit patronising if used to an older person.

Throwawayme · 13/12/2023 17:10

deargoop · 11/12/2023 15:25

I think the term "hen" is so nice myself and would like to use it on occasion but just didn't want to muck it up!

I love that you want to use it!!

Star81 · 13/12/2023 17:16

I’m Scottish and it’s not a term I would use at all. It would to me be an older persons term these days and even then a more traditional Glasgow phrase. I only live 40 miles away and it’s not used at all around here .i would find it odd being said by a non Scottish person

Achnahaird · 13/12/2023 18:02

I'm surprised that it's considered Glasgow only. It was very commonly used when in Midlothian when I was young, but I've been away from there for ages so I don't know if it's dying out now.

I've never used it myself, I must admit, but I don't dislike hearing it. As others have said, I think it would sound odd without the local accent.

Mrsjayy · 13/12/2023 20:15

Star81 · 13/12/2023 17:16

I’m Scottish and it’s not a term I would use at all. It would to me be an older persons term these days and even then a more traditional Glasgow phrase. I only live 40 miles away and it’s not used at all around here .i would find it odd being said by a non Scottish person

I'm in Stirling and we definitely say it here.

Ohhmydays · 16/12/2023 00:36

Longwhiskers · 11/12/2023 15:34

I always thought hen was a southern Scotland /Northumberland thing - is it said across the country?

Yes, i live West Lothian