hillbilly

[ˈhɪlˌbɪ.li]

/[ˈhɪlˌbɪ.li]/ noun

The verdict

“hillbilly” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - eine Person aus den Bergen, insbesondere aus einer ländlichen Gegend mit einem Mangel an Bildung und Kultiviertheit

Corpus desk

Index DE-hillbilly · hillbilly · German

hillbilly · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for hillbilly
PropertyValue
Headwordhillbilly
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈhɪlˌbɪ.li]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „hillbilly“ im Deutschen

hillbillysitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hillbilly is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈhɪlˌbɪ.li]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for hillbilly in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is hillbilly, spelled H-I-L-L-B-I-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    eine Person aus den Bergen, insbesondere aus einer ländlichen Gegend mit einem Mangel an Bildung und Kultiviertheit
  2. 2
    eine weiße Person aus dem ländlichen, südlichen Teil der USA

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how hillbilly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Fueled by news stories of mountain feuds, such as that in the 1880s between the Hatfields and McCoys, the hillbilly stereotype developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hillbilly"?
"hillbilly" is spelled H-I-L-L-B-I-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈhɪlˌbɪ.li].
What does "hillbilly" mean?
As a noun, "hillbilly" means: eine Person aus den Bergen, insbesondere aus einer ländlichen Gegend mit einem Mangel an Bildung und Kultiviertheit
How do you pronounce "hillbilly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hillbilly" is [ˈhɪlˌbɪ.li]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hillbilly" come from?
"hillbilly" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list