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” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #787 in English word frequency and used as an interjection.

#787
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An exclamation to get attention.

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). hey 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 hey is 3 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /heɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #787 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “hey”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is H-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /heɪ/ (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. hey 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