"hella" meaning in English

See hella in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

IPA: /ˈhɛl.ə/ [US] Audio: En-au-hella.ogg
Rhymes: -ɛlə Etymology: Related to "a hell of a". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva. Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} hella (not comparable)
  1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) Intensifier, modifying verbs; to a large extent; totally; very much. Tags: Northern-California, not-comparable, slang
    Sense id: en-hella-en-adv-MSmRFcRy
  2. (slang, potentially considered vulgar, chiefly regional US, African-American Vernacular and Internet slang) Intensifier, modifying adjectives; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly. Tags: US, not-comparable, regional, slang Synonyms (extremely, modifies adjectives): wicked [Northeastern, US, especially]
    Sense id: en-hella-en-adv-DqifW0w1 Categories (other): African-American Vernacular English, American English, Regional English, English determiners, English entries with incorrect language header, English intensifiers, English pronouns, Old Norse entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 7 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English determiners: 21 50 16 5 8 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 23 43 8 19 2 4 Disambiguation of English intensifiers: 25 44 2 23 2 4 Disambiguation of English pronouns: 17 49 12 3 19 Disambiguation of Old Norse entries with incorrect language header: 9 24 6 7 1 1 5 3 4 2 3 8 9 0 6 3 7 3 Disambiguation of Pages with 7 entries: 7 16 3 5 1 0 3 2 2 2 4 21 23 1 1 2 3 4 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 9 19 2 7 1 0 2 2 2 2 3 20 22 1 1 1 2 3 Disambiguation of 'extremely, modifies adjectives': 19 81
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Contraction

Etymology: Shortened form, or elision, of phrases like "hell have", approximating casual speech in writing. Head templates: {{head|en|contraction|head=}} hella, {{en-cont}} hella
  1. (nonstandard) Contraction of Hell have. Tags: abbreviation, alt-of, contraction, nonstandard Alternative form of: Hell have
    Sense id: en-hella-en-contraction-IS60scIl
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Determiner

IPA: /ˈhɛl.ə/ [US] Audio: En-au-hella.ogg
Rhymes: -ɛlə Etymology: Related to "a hell of a". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva. Head templates: {{head|en|determiner|head=}} hella, {{en-det}} hella
  1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) Intensifier, signifies an abundance of a thing; much or many. Tags: Northern-California, slang Synonyms (much or many): bare [emphatic, intensifier], mad [emphatic, intensifier]
    Sense id: en-hella-en-det-W0Ioz4ys Categories (other): California English
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Interjection

IPA: /ˈhɛl.ə/ [US] Audio: En-au-hella.ogg
Rhymes: -ɛlə Etymology: Related to "a hell of a". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva. Head templates: {{en-interj}} hella
  1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) For sure; totally; hell yeah; used as a strong affirmation of something that was just said, accomplished, or revealed. Tags: Northern-California, slang Related terms: hecka [euphemistic], helluv, helluva
    Sense id: en-hella-en-intj-5ULen~47
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Pronoun

IPA: /ˈhɛl.ə/ [US] Audio: En-au-hella.ogg
Rhymes: -ɛlə Etymology: Related to "a hell of a". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva. Head templates: {{head|en|pronoun|||||||||||||||||||head=}} hella, {{en-pronoun}} hella
  1. (slang, chiefly Northern California) A lot; very much. Tags: Northern-California, slang
    Sense id: en-hella-en-pron-HaJEz3Tv
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1
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          "text": "There are hella people here.",
          "type": "example"
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          "text": "Now, let’s talk bidness.\nI got nothing for you.\nWrong. You got hella cash.",
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{
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          "text": "I can't tell you how much I hella love the new track.",
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          "text": "Jane was driving away, and the door was open, so I hella ran for it.",
          "type": "example"
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          "text": "Oh, today's Cyrell's bday. We hella sang her happy birthday at the spot.",
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          "text": "I guess she seems hella stoned in her commercial.",
          "type": "example"
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          "text": "I've been a Star Wars fan since I was hella young.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Taylor Swift (lyrics and music), “Shake It Off”:",
          "text": "\"And to the fella over there / With the hella good hair / Won't you come on over, baby / We can shake, shake, shake\"",
          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "2016, Life Is Strange, spoken by Chloe Price (Ashly Burch), Square Enix, via Dontnod Entertainment:",
          "text": "The storm got hella crazy and... and you said we would be safe at the lighthouse.",
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      "word": "mad"
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{
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        "A lot; very much."
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, chiefly Northern California) A lot; very much."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-California",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈhɛl.ə/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-hella.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6a/En-au-hella.ogg/En-au-hella.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/En-au-hella.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hella"
  ],
  "word": "hella"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English contractions",
    "English degree adverbs",
    "English determiners",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English non-lemma forms",
    "English pronouns",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Old Norse entries with incorrect language header",
    "Old Norse non-lemma forms",
    "Old Norse noun forms",
    "Pages with 7 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlə",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlə/2 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_text": "Related to \"a hell of a\". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "hella (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I can't tell you how much I hella love the new track.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Jane was driving away, and the door was open, so I hella ran for it.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Oh, today's Cyrell's bday. We hella sang her happy birthday at the spot.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, Life Is Strange, spoken by Chloe Price (Hannah Telle as Max Caulfield and Ashly Burch), Square Enix, via Dontnod Entertainment:",
          "text": "You’re right. We hella deserve it. Splish splash!\nDid you actually just say \"hella\"? I think I’m a good bad influence on you.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Intensifier, modifying verbs; to a large extent; totally; very much."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "totally",
          "totally"
        ],
        [
          "very much",
          "very much"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, chiefly Northern California) Intensifier, modifying verbs; to a large extent; totally; very much."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-California",
        "not-comparable",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "African-American Vernacular English",
        "American English",
        "English internet slang",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English vulgarities",
        "Regional English"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I guess she seems hella stoned in her commercial.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "I've been a Star Wars fan since I was hella young.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Taylor Swift (lyrics and music), “Shake It Off”:",
          "text": "\"And to the fella over there / With the hella good hair / Won't you come on over, baby / We can shake, shake, shake\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, Life Is Strange, spoken by Chloe Price (Ashly Burch), Square Enix, via Dontnod Entertainment:",
          "text": "The storm got hella crazy and... and you said we would be safe at the lighthouse.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Intensifier, modifying adjectives; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "regional",
          "regional#English"
        ],
        [
          "Internet",
          "Internet"
        ],
        [
          "slang",
          "slang"
        ],
        [
          "extremely",
          "extremely"
        ],
        [
          "exceedingly",
          "exceedingly"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "potentially considered vulgar; African-American Vernacular and Internet slang; potentially considered vulgar; African-American Vernacular and Internet slang",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, potentially considered vulgar, chiefly regional US, African-American Vernacular and Internet slang) Intensifier, modifying adjectives; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "not-comparable",
        "regional",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈhɛl.ə/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-hella.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6a/En-au-hella.ogg/En-au-hella.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/En-au-hella.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlə"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "extremely, modifies adjectives",
      "tags": [
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "especially"
      ],
      "word": "wicked"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hella"
  ],
  "word": "hella"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English contractions",
    "English degree adverbs",
    "English determiners",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English non-lemma forms",
    "English pronouns",
    "English uncomparable adverbs",
    "Old Norse entries with incorrect language header",
    "Old Norse non-lemma forms",
    "Old Norse noun forms",
    "Pages with 7 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlə",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛlə/2 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_text": "Related to \"a hell of a\". Originally Northern California slang. Compare helluv, helluva.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hella",
      "name": "en-interj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "related": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic"
      ],
      "word": "hecka"
    },
    {
      "word": "helluv"
    },
    {
      "word": "helluva"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "\"We definitely rocked that shit man!\"\n\"Hella!\"",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "For sure; totally; hell yeah; used as a strong affirmation of something that was just said, accomplished, or revealed."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "For sure",
          "for sure"
        ],
        [
          "totally",
          "totally"
        ],
        [
          "hell yeah",
          "hell yeah"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, chiefly Northern California) For sure; totally; hell yeah; used as a strong affirmation of something that was just said, accomplished, or revealed."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-California",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈhɛl.ə/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-hella.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6a/En-au-hella.ogg/En-au-hella.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/En-au-hella.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛlə"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hella"
  ],
  "word": "hella"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English contractions",
    "English degree adverbs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English intensifiers",
    "English non-lemma forms",
    "Old Norse entries with incorrect language header",
    "Old Norse non-lemma forms",
    "Old Norse noun forms",
    "Pages with 7 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Shortened form, or elision, of phrases like \"hell have\", approximating casual speech in writing.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "contraction",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "hella",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "hella",
      "name": "en-cont"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "contraction",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "Hell have"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English contractions",
        "English nonstandard terms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Where the hella you been?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Contraction of Hell have."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Hell",
          "Hell#English"
        ],
        [
          "have",
          "have#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(nonstandard) Contraction of Hell have."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "contraction",
        "nonstandard"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "hella"
  ],
  "word": "hella"
}

Download raw JSONL data for hella meaning in English (10.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-02 using wiktextract (f074e77 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.