Hallo or hello?
hallo is an interjection meaning “Alternative form of hello (“greeting”)”; hello is an interjection meaning “A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s…”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) hello is about 93 times as common as hallo.
What is the difference between hallo and hello?
| hallo | hello | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | interjection, noun, verb | interjection, noun, verb |
| Meaning | The cry "hallo!" A shout of exultation To shout, or to call with a loud voice | A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence A greeting used when answering the telephone "Hello!" or an equivalent greeting |
| Example | none recorded | Hello, everyone |
| Forms | hallos, halloes, halloing, halloed | hullo |
| Pronunciation | /həˈləʊ/ /hæˈləʊ/ | /hɛˈloʊ/ /həˈloʊ/ /ˈhɛloʊ/ |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words | 52 times per million words |
Sources: hallo and hello in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hallo and hello
hallo
- 1
Alternative form of hello (“greeting”)
- 2
The cry "hallo!"
- 3
To shout, or to call with a loud voice
- 4
datedA cry of surprise
- 5
A shout of exultation
- 6
To chase while shouting "hallo!"
- 7
To cry "hallo" (to someone)
- 8
To shout (something)
hello
- 1
A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence
Hello, everyone
- 2
"Hello!" or an equivalent greeting
They gave each other a quick hello when they met, and went back on their merry ways
- 3
To greet (someone) with "hello"
- 4
A greeting used when answering the telephone
Hello? How may I help you?
- 5
A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected
Hello? Is anyone there?
- 6
colloquialUsed sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious
You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?
- 7
UKAn expression of puzzlement or discovery
Hello! What’s going on here?
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hallo or hello?
hallo appears about once in every 2 million words; hello 52 times per million words.
hallo about once in every 2 million wordshello 52 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search hallo vs hello?
“hallo vs hello” is searched about 10 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“hello vs hallo”, “hallo or hello”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.