hero
/ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/
"hero" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hero” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,114 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,114
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.
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 | hero |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,114 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hero” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hero is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,114 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for hero, with forms such as "ehro", "heor", and "herro". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ho", "HR", "hey", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (“hero”), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”); if so, related to Latin servo (“protect”). Displaced Middle… The correct English form is hero, spelled H-E-R-O.
Definition
- 1Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.
- 2A role model.
- 3The protagonist in a work of fiction.
- 4The current player, especially a hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: villain (“any opponent player”). Not to be confused with hero call (“a weak call against a supposed bluff”).
- 5A large sandwich made from meats and cheeses.
- 6The product chosen from several candidates to be photographed, as in food advertising, or with props used in a movie.
- 7The eye-catching top portion of a web page, sometimes including a hero image; the portion above the fold.
- 8The standout component of a dish; the part of a dish that should take center stage on the palate.
Etymology
From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (“hero”), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”); if so, related to Latin servo (“protect”). Displaced Middle English heleð, haleð, from Old English hæleþ, hæle.
Synonyms
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ehro,heor,herro,hhero,hreo
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hero - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “hero”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-E-R-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ho” - see the side-by-side comparison. hero vs ho
- 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.