hallo

/həˈləʊ/

//həˈləʊ// intj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hallo" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hallo” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #39,343) as an interjection. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#39,343
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of hello (“greeting”).

Corpus desk

Index EN-hallo · hallo · English

hallo · rank #39,343 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,343
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hallows

Nearest frequency peer: hallows (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “hallo”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “hallo” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hallo vs hao
60% similar
hallo vs hell
60% similar
hallo vs hill
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hallo
PropertyValue
Headwordhallo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/həˈləʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#39,343
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “hallo”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hallolands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “hallows” (#39,344), “guile” (#39,341), “Hamiltonian” (#39,345). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hallo” is #39,343. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for hallo is neighbouring look-alikes ("hao", "hell", …), not just typos; it is aninterjection pronounced /həˈləʊ/. Frequency #39,343 among 2,646 “H” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for hallo, with forms such as "ahllo", "halol", and "hhallo". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hao", "hell", "hill", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English halou, halow, halloo (interjection used to call attention), representing Old English hēlā, ǣlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”), equivalent to hey + lo. The correct English form is hallo, spelled H-A-L-L-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative form of hello (“greeting”).
  2. 2
    A cry of surprise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Hallo father, here’s Pecksniff!
  2. It sounds like a sum in the rule of three. The answer should give us the— But hallo! here are the accredited representatives of the law.

Etymology

From Middle English halou, halow, halloo (interjection used to call attention), representing Old English hēlā, ǣlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”), equivalent to hey + lo.

Synonyms

hellowow

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahllo
  • halol
  • hhallo
  • hlalo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hallo - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ahllo2halol2hhallo1hlalo2
Edit distance from "hallo"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hallo"?
"hallo" is spelled H-A-L-L-O. The IPA pronunciation is /həˈləʊ/.
What does "hallo" mean?
As an interjection, "hallo" means: Alternative form of hello (“greeting”).
What words are commonly confused with "hallo"?
"hallo" is commonly confused with "hao", "hell", "hill". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hallo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hallo" is /həˈləʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hallo"?
From Middle English halou, halow, halloo (interjection used to call attention), representing Old English hēlā, ǣlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”), equivalent to hey + lo. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hallo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

guile#39,341Havre#39,347froth#39,329homey#39,358

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list