whew

/hwjuː/

//hwjuː// intj

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

"whew" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“whew” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,420. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,420
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension; the release of breath; an expression of relief.

Corpus desk

Index EN-whew · whew · English

whew · rank #21,420 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,420
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH wept

Nearest frequency peer: wept (-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 “whew”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “whew” 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).

whew vs who
50% similar
whew vs why
50% similar
whew vs wow
50% similar

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

Key facts for whew
PropertyValue
Headwordwhew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/hwjuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#21,420
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “whew”

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).whewlands 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 “wept” (#21,419), “whirlwind” (#21,421), “Wendell” (#21,418). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “whew” is #21,420. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around whew (IPA /hwjuː/), aninterjection. Corpus frequency is #21,420 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for whew, with forms such as "hwew", "wehw", and "wheww". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "who", "why", "wow", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is whew, spelled W-H-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    An expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension; the release of breath; an expression of relief.
  2. 2
    An expression of amazement or surprise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. (from strenuous labour) Whew! That box weighs a ton!
  2. (from intense concern) Whew! Thank goodness youʼre safe! I thought something terrible had happened to you!

Synonyms

phewwow

This word in other languages

uf(Español)ouf(Français)puh(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hwew
  • wehw
  • wheww
  • whhew
  • whwe
  • wwhew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of whew - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hwew2wehw2wheww1whhew1whwe2wwhew1
Edit distance from "whew"

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 "whew"?
"whew" is spelled W-H-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /hwjuː/.
What does "whew" mean?
As an interjection, "whew" means: An expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension; the release of breath; an expression of relief.
What words are commonly confused with "whew"?
"whew" is commonly confused with "who", "why", "wow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "whew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "whew" is /hwjuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "whew" come from?
"whew" 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 "whew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wept#21,419wavy#21,415Aziz#21,448bain#21,450

Similar misspelling depth

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

Weibo6 variantswaive6 variantsAlain6 variantsaroma6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list