hence

\ˈhɛns\

/\ˈhɛns\/ adv

The verdict

“hence” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Par conséquent, en effet.

Corpus desk

Index FR-hence · hence · French

hence · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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 hence
PropertyValue
Headwordhence
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\ˈhɛns\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « hence » en français

hencereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

hence is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \ˈhɛns\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for hence, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is hence, spelled H-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Par conséquent, en effet.
  2. 2
    D’ici.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He is about to go fishing. Hence he'll be away all day long.
  2. I'm going hence, because you have insulted me.

Synonyms

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 "hence"?
"hence" is spelled H-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈhɛns\.
What does "hence" mean?
As an adverb, "hence" means: Par conséquent, en effet.
How do you pronounce "hence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hence" is \ˈhɛns\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hence" come from?
"hence" is a French 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list