hey

/heɪ/

//heɪ// intj

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

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

The verdict

“hey” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #787) as an interjection. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#787
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exclamation to get attention.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hey · hey · English

hey · rank #787 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #787
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH groups

Nearest frequency peer: groups (-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 “hey”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “hey” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

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

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

Key facts for hey
PropertyValue
Headwordhey
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/heɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#787
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hey” 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).heylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “groups” (#786), “key” (#788), “forward” (#785). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for hey is neighbouring look-alikes ("hi", "ho", …), not just typos; it is aninterjection pronounced /heɪ/. Frequency #787 among 2,646 “H” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hey, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "hi", "ho", "HR", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hey, hei, also without h- in ey, from Old English *hē, ēa (interjection), attested as first element in hēlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”). Cognate with Dutch hé, hei (“hi, hey”), German hei (“hey, wow”), Danish and Swedish hej (“hello, h… The correct English form is hey, spelled H-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An exclamation to get attention.
  2. 2
    A protest or reprimand.
  3. 3
    An expression of surprise.
  4. 4
    An informal greeting, similar to hi.
  5. 5
    A request for repetition or explanation; an expression of confusion.
  6. 6
    Used as a tag question, to emphasise what goes before or to request that the listener express an opinion about what has been said.
  7. 7
    A meaningless beat marker or extra, filler syllable in song lyrics.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hey appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hey, look at this!
  2. Hey! Listen!

Etymology

From Middle English hey, hei, also without h- in ey, from Old English *hē, ēa (interjection), attested as first element in hēlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”). Cognate with Dutch hé, hei (“hi, hey”), German hei (“hey, wow”), Danish and Swedish hej (“hello, hey”), Faroese hey (“hey, hello”), Old Norse, Icelandic and Norwegian hei (“hey”), Polish hej (“hey, hello”), Romanian hei, Russian эй (ej, “hey”); see heigh. Probably a natural expression, as may be inferred from its presence with similar meaning in many other unrelated languages: for example, Burmese ဟေး (he:), Finnish hei, Unami hè, and Mandarin 哎 (āi), and various sound-alikes as Ancient Greek εἶα (eîa) and Latin eia, eho, Sanskrit हे (he). See also hello.

Synonyms

oiyoblimeygee whizyowzahwowehhuhhihowdywotcherhelloahemahoycooeeheyheyohoihoo manoi oiyoohoo

This word in other languages

oír(Español)hé(Français)Hallo(Deutsch)ei(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 "hey"?
"hey" is spelled H-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /heɪ/.
What does "hey" mean?
As an interjection, "hey" means: An exclamation to get attention.
What words are commonly confused with "hey"?
"hey" 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 "hey"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hey" is /heɪ/. 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 "hey"?
From Middle English hey, hei, also without h- in ey, from Old English *hē, ēa (interjection), attested as first element in hēlā, ēalā (“O!, alas!, oh!, lo!”). Cognate with Dutch hé, hei (“hi, hey”), German hei (“hey, wow”), Danish and Swedish hej ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hey", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

key#788mom#789cup#805eat#765

What to do next

You've looked up "hey". Here's where to go from here.

  • "hey" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "hi". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #787 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list