hella
/ˈhɛl.ə/determiner, pronoun, adverb, interjection
hella is spelled H-E-L-L-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a determiner, hella means “An intensifier, signifying an abundance of a thing; much or many” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hella?
| Letters | 5: H-E-L-L-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hella?
Hella appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hella?
- US /ˈhɛl.ə/
Hella has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-hella.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hella?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hella from its last stressed vowel (/ɛlə/):
- umbrella
- tele
- mozzarella
- salmonella
- novella
- patella
- telenovela
- glabella
- tarantella
- lamella
- Valpolicella
- sequela
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does hella mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
determiner
- 1
slangAn intensifier, signifying an abundance of a thing; much or many.
There are hella people here.
pronoun
- 1
slangA lot; very much.
We paid hella for that Chinese cuisine.
adverb
- 1
slangIntensifier, modifying verbs; to a large extent; totally; very much.
I can't tell you how much I hella love the new track.
- 2
USslangIntensifier, modifying adjectives; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly.
I guess she seems hella stoned in her commercial.
interjection
- 1
slangFor sure; totally; hell yeah; used as a strong affirmation of something that was just said, accomplished, or revealed.
"We definitely rocked that shit man!" "Hella!"
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does hella come from?
Related to a hell of a. Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).