hella

Meanings

1. 1adverbslanginformal

   Very; to a great degree (used for emphasis in casual speech).

   Grammar: Comes before an adjective or another adverb: hella good, hella fast. It is not used in formal writing.

   Patterns

   • hella + adjective
   • hella + adverb

   That new song is hella catchy.

   She ran hella fast to catch the bus.

   The party was hella fun last night.

2. 2adverbslanginformalregional

   A lot of; many (used before a noun in casual speech).

   Grammar: Comes before a plural or uncountable noun: hella people, hella money. This use is common in Northern California slang.

   Patterns

   • hella + plural noun
   • hella + uncountable noun

   There were hella people at the concert.

   He spent hella money on that jacket.

   We had hella homework over the weekend.

Common combinations

hella good

This pizza is hella good.

hella cool

Your new bike is hella cool.

hella people

There were hella people waiting in line.

hella tired

I'm hella tired after that workout.

Synonyms and how they differ

very

The standard, neutral intensifier; hella is much more informal and regional.

really

Common in everyday speech and acceptable in most contexts, unlike hella.

super

Informal but more widely understood; hella is strongly associated with Northern California.

Commonly confused: hella or hello?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “hella”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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