hello
/hɛˈloʊ/
"hello" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hello” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,944. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #1,944
- frequency rank, English
- 2,646
- “H” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hello · hello · English
hello · rank #1,944 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,944
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,646
- PHOTO-FINISH harry
Nearest frequency peer: harry (-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 neighbourhood for “hello”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- flat
flat
98,060 corpus weight
- fuel
fuel
98,059 corpus weight
- harry
harry
98,058 corpus weight
- hello
hello
98,057 corpus weight
- houses
houses
98,056 corpus weight
- ill
ill
98,055 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “hello” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hello |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /hɛˈloʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #1,944 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hello” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around hello (IPA /hɛˈloʊ/), aninterjection. Corpus frequency is #1,944 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for hello, with forms such as "ehllo", "helo", and "helol". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "help", "hill", "hero", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Hello (first attested in 1826), from holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades. Ultimately fr… The correct English form is hello, spelled H-E-L-L-O.
Definition
- 1A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
- 2A greeting used when answering the telephone.
- 3A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.
- 4Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious.
- 5An expression of puzzlement or discovery.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hello appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Hello, everyone.
Hello? How may I help you?
Etymology
Hello (first attested in 1826), from holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades. Ultimately from a variant of Old English ēalā, such as hēlā, which was used colloquially at the time similarly to how hey and (in some dialects) hi are used nowadays. Thus, equivalent to a compound of hey and lo. Used when drawing attention to yourself. Possibly influenced by Old Saxon halo!, imperative of halōn (“to call, fetch”), used in hailing a ferryman, akin to Old High German hala, hola!, imperative forms of halōn, holōn (“to fetch”). More at hallo. OED and Merriam-Webster also suggested that it is a variant of holla, a variant of holloo. Further beyond, the origin remains uncertain. OED and Merriam-Webster suggested that it has a connection between hallow (“to shout, to cry out loud”), which came from Old French holloer, which, according to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, is from Old Saxon halōn.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ehllo
- helo
- helol
- hhello
- hlelo
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hello - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "hello"?
What does "hello" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "hello"?
How do you pronounce "hello"?
What is the origin of the word "hello"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hello", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "hello". Here's where to go from here.
- "hello" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "help". View pair
- 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #1,944 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.