hullo

/hʌˈləʊ/

//hʌˈləʊ// intj

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

The verdict

“hullo” is uncommon English (frequency #89,470 among 2,646 “H” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,470
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of hello (Greeting.)

Corpus desk

Index EN-hullo · hullo · English

hullo · rank #89,470 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,470
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hostname

Nearest frequency peer: hostname (-3 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.

Long-tail ranks near “hullo”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “hullo” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hullo
PropertyValue
Headwordhullo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/hʌˈləʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#89,470
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “hullo” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).hullofalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “hostname” (#89,467), “hootenanny” (#89,464), “Honiton” (#89,463). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hullo” is #89,470. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hullo is uncommon English at frequency #89,470 among 2,646 “H” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /hʌˈləʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for hullo in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is hullo, spelled H-U-L-L-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative form of hello (Greeting.)
  2. 2
    Alternative form of hello (expressing puzzlement or discovery)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There he is, now. Bang went the front door open and shut. Harry shouted: “Hullo, you people. Down in five minutes.”
  2. “Mr Wooster?” “Oh, hullo, Lady Wickham.” [...] “Hullo, Bobbie,” I said. “Hullo, Bertie,” she said. “Hullo, Upjohn,” I said. The correct response to this would have been “Hullo, Wooster”, but he blew up in his lines and merely made a noise like a wolf with its big toe caught in a trap. [...] But as I approached the [telephone] and unhooked the thing you un…

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 "hullo"?
"hullo" is spelled H-U-L-L-O. The IPA pronunciation is /hʌˈləʊ/.
What does "hullo" mean?
As an interjection, "hullo" means: Alternative form of hello (Greeting.)
How do you pronounce "hullo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hullo" is /hʌˈləʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hullo" come from?
"hullo" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "hullo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list