hell
What does “hell” mean in English?
Used as a mild exclamation or to intensify a statement, like saying 'hell yeah!'
Literally “place of damnation”
It's similar to using 'damn' in English, often found in casual conversation. Its offensiveness can vary depending on the audience, but it's generally pretty safe.
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Related English words
goddamn
3/5 · VulgarIt's a stronger exclamation or intensifier, often used to express frustration or emphasize a point. The literal sense is 'God condemn,' which adds a layer of seriousness to the expression.
bloody
2/5 · CoarseIt's a mild swear-word intensifier often used to emphasize frustration or annoyance. Literally, it means 'covered in blood,' but that's not how it's used here.
damn
2/5 · CoarseIt's a mild expression of anger or emphasis, often used to express frustration or surprise. Literally, it means to condemn something.
feck
2/5 · CoarseIt's a milder exclamation or intensifier similar to 'fuck.'
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via 4troDev/profanity.csv (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.