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Glite Dictionary
long time no hear

long time no hear

8.4
An informal greeting used when you have not had news from someone for a long time
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hace tiempo que no sé de ti
  • It's been a long time no hear from you!

Examples

  • Long time no hear! I was just thinking about you yesterday.

  • I can't believe it's been a long time no hear since we last talked.

  • Sorry for the silence—it's been a long time no hear from my end.

  • Whenever I get an email from her, it's always after a long time no hear.

  • Long time no hear! I just realized how much I missed our conversations.

  • I hope you're doing well; it feels like it's been a long time no hear from you.

  • It's such a surprise to see your message after a long time no hear!

Surface Forms

long time no hear main

Morphology

long + time + no + hear

The meaning 'haven't heard from someone for a long time' is directly derivable from combining 'long'+'time' (extended duration) with 'no'+'hear' (not receiving communication). Although the form is colloquial and grammatically elliptical in English, the semantic composition is straightforward and mirrored in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words will very likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Long time no hear may come from people using very simple English when they spoke with others who used a different language, much like the older friendly line long time no see but with hear to talk about messages. So it paints the picture of not having 'heard' from someone for a long time, and we use it to mean 'I haven't heard from you in a long time'.