# hell

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /hɛl/ · frequency rank #828

## Definitions
1. A place of torment where some or all sinners are believed to go after death and evil spirits are believed to be.

## Etymology
From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

## Easily confused with
- **her** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-her)
- **hey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hey)
- **hes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hes)
- **hen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hen)
- **hem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hem)
- **het** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-het)
- **hep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hep)
- **hew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hew)
- **here** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-here)
- **help** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-help)
- **hold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hold)
- **holy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-holy)
- **hill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hill)
- **hero** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hero)
- **hole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hole)
- **hull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hull)
- **hers** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hers)
- **herb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-herb)
- **herd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-herd)
- **hulk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hell-vs-hulk)

## Common misspellings (3)
`ehll`, `hhell`, `hlel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hell