hen

/hɛn/

//hɛn// noun

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

"hen" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hen” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,733 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,733
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

hen vs hi
33% similar
hen vs ho
33% similar
hen vs HR
0% similar

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

Key facts for hen
PropertyValue
Headwordhen
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɛn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#13,733
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hen” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hen lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for hen is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /hɛn/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,733 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hen, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hi", "ho", "HR", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hen, from Old English henn (“hen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kan-, *kana- (“to sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hanne (“hen”), West Frisian hin (“hen”), Dutch h… The correct English form is hen, spelled H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.
  2. 2
    A female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl.
  3. 3
    A female fish (especially a salmon or trout) or crustacean.
  4. 4
    A woman.
  5. 5
    A woman.
  6. 6
    A hen night.
  7. 7
    An affectionate term of address used to women or girls.
  8. 8
    The penis of a trans woman.
  9. 9
    A henlike person of either sex.
  10. 10
    The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a bivalve shellfish.
  11. 11
    A large pewter pot used in a tavern.

Etymology

From Middle English hen, from Old English henn (“hen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kan-, *kana- (“to sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hanne (“hen”), West Frisian hin (“hen”), Dutch hen (“hen”), German Low German Heen (“hen”), German Henne (“hen”), Danish høne (“hen”), Swedish höna (“hen”), Icelandic hæna (“hen”). Related to Old English hana (“cock, rooster”). Also cognate to Latin cicōnia (“stork”), Latin canō (“to sing”), Russian каню́к (kanjúk, “buzzard”). Compare Russian пету́х (petúx, “rooster, cock”) from Russian петь (petʹ, “to sing”). Etymology 1 sense 7 after cock (“male chicken; man's penis”).

Synonyms

hen-birdbachelorettehard clamhen-clamhen-fish

This word in other languages

gallina(Español)poule(Français)Henne(Deutsch)galinha(Português)

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 "hen"?
"hen" is spelled H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /hɛn/.
What does "hen" mean?
As a noun, "hen" means: A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.
What words are commonly confused with "hen"?
"hen" is commonly confused with "hi", "ho", "HR". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hen" is /hɛn/. 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 "hen"?
From Middle English hen, from Old English henn (“hen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kan-, *kana- (“to sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hanne (“hen”), West Frisian hin (“hen”... 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.

Using “hen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /hɛn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “hi” - see the side-by-side comparison. hen vs hi
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list