hero
/ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/
"hero" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hero” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,114. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #2,114
- frequency rank, English
- 2,646
- “H” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hero · hero · English
hero · rank #2,114 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #2,114
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,646
- PHOTO-FINISH girlfriend
Nearest frequency peer: girlfriend (-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 “hero”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- flow
flow
97,890 corpus weight
- formed
formed
97,889 corpus weight
- girlfriend
girlfriend
97,888 corpus weight
- hero
hero
97,887 corpus weight
- illegal
illegal
97,886 corpus weight
- increasing
increasing
97,885 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “hero” 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 | 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
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around hero (IPA /ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,114 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hero appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"I'm no hero," insists freckle-faced 14-year-old Freddie Hanberry. But to many of the young cancer patients, nurses and staff at University Medical Center here, he is as close as you can get. The "hero" talk began when a national magazine featured Hanberry, who has leukemia, in a special section called "100 New American Heroes."
Every cancer victim is a true hero.
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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hero", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 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 "hero". Here's where to go from here.
- "hero" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ho". View pair
- 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #2,114 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.