mhm

/m̩ˈhm̩/

//m̩ˈhm̩// intj

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

The verdict

“mhm” is uncommon English (frequency #53,699 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,699
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Expressing agreement or affirmation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mhm · mhm · English

mhm · rank #53,699 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,699
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH metatarsal

Nearest frequency peer: metatarsal (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “mhm”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mhm
PropertyValue
Headwordmhm
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/m̩ˈhm̩/
Letters3
Frequency rank#53,699
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mhm” 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).mhmfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “metatarsal” (#53,698), “microstructure” (#53,700), “Mesopotamian” (#53,697). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mhm” is #53,699. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mhm is uncommon English at frequency #53,699 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /m̩ˈhm̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Expressing agreement or affirmation.".

mhm has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Nasalized form of uh-huh, a form imitative of non-verbal sounds. The correct English form is mhm, spelled M-H-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Expressing agreement or affirmation.

Etymology

Nasalized form of uh-huh, a form imitative of non-verbal sounds.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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 "mhm"?
"mhm" is spelled M-H-M. The IPA pronunciation is /m̩ˈhm̩/.
What does "mhm" mean?
As an interjection, "mhm" means: Expressing agreement or affirmation.
How do you pronounce "mhm"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mhm" is /m̩ˈhm̩/. 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 "mhm"?
Nasalized form of uh-huh, a form imitative of non-verbal sounds. 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 "mhm", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list