hilly

/ˈhɪli/

//ˈhɪli// adj

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

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

The verdict

“hilly” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,300. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,300
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abundant in hills; having many hills.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hilly · hilly · English

hilly · rank #23,300 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,300
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH HH

Nearest frequency peer: HH (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hilly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hilly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

hilly vs holy
60% similar
hilly vs hull
60% similar
hilly vs hilt
60% similar

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

Key facts for hilly
PropertyValue
Headwordhilly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhɪli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#23,300
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hilly”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).hillylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “HH” (#23,299), “Hess” (#23,298), “hone” (#23,302). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hilly” is #23,300. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around hilly (IPA /ˈhɪli/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #23,300 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Abundant in hills; having many hills.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for hilly, with forms such as "hhilly", "hillyy", and "hily". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "holy", "hull", "hilt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hilly, hylly, hully, equivalent to hill + -y. The correct English form is hilly, spelled H-I-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Abundant in hills; having many hills.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The intermediate station seen here, Llanbister Road, is 5 hilly miles by road from the town it purports to serve.
  2. Our first stop is in Antu County, Kirin Province, a rugged and hilly extension of the Changpai foothills. The temperature in midsummer lingers around 20° C.

Etymology

From Middle English hilly, hylly, hully, equivalent to hill + -y.

This word in other languages

montuoso(Español)vallonné(Français)hügelig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhilly
  • hillyy
  • hily
  • hilyl
  • hlily
  • ihlly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hilly - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhilly1hillyy1hily1hilyl2hlily2ihlly2
Edit distance from "hilly"

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 "hilly"?
"hilly" is spelled H-I-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪli/.
What does "hilly" mean?
As an adjective, "hilly" means: Abundant in hills; having many hills.
What words are commonly confused with "hilly"?
"hilly" is commonly confused with "holy", "hull", "hilt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hilly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hilly" is /ˈhɪli/. 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 "hilly"?
From Middle English hilly, hylly, hully, equivalent to hill + -y. 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 "hilly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Howie#23,305Huron#23,307Hyatt#23,309Guido#23,288

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Hahn6 variantsgrate6 variantsErika6 variantspaine6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list