hey ho

/ˈheɪhəʊ/

//ˈheɪhəʊ// intj

"hey-ho" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hey ho” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - oh well; a usually light-hearted dismissal or acceptance of a troublesome situation

Corpus desk

Index EN-hey-ho · hey ho · English

hey ho · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for hey ho
PropertyValue
Headwordhey ho
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/ˈheɪhəʊ/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hey ho” in English

hey hofalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hey ho is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ˈheɪhəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "oh well; a usually light-hearted dismissal or acceptance of a troublesome situation".

Zero misspellings are on record for hey ho in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is hey ho, spelled H-E-Y- -H-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    oh well; a usually light-hearted dismissal or acceptance of a troublesome situation

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hey ho"?
"hey ho" is spelled H-E-Y- -H-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈheɪhəʊ/.
What does "hey ho" mean?
As an interjection, "hey ho" means: oh well; a usually light-hearted dismissal or acceptance of a troublesome situation
How do you pronounce "hey ho"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hey ho" is /ˈheɪhəʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hey ho" come from?
"hey ho" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list