# hee

/ˈhi/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hee
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. he (archaic spelling)

pronoun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

an old way of spelling the word 'he'.

For teachers: an obsolete spelling of the third-person singular masculine pronoun 'he', occasionally used for emphasis in Early Modern English.

- In the old book, the writer wrote 'hee' instead of 'he'.
- The scholar noted that in the original seventeenth-century manuscript, the author consistently used the spelling 'hee' to denote the subject.

Usage: Used as the subject of a sentence in historical texts.

Teaching tip: This spelling is only found in historical documents or literature from the 16th and 17th centuries; students should not use it in modern writing.

### 2. sound of laughter

interjection · CEFR B1 · Informal

a sound you make when you are laughing, often written as 'hee hee'.

For teachers: an onomatopoeic representation of a high-pitched or giggling laugh.

- The children went 'hee hee' as they hid under the table.
- The villain in the play gave a short, sharp 'hee' before disappearing behind the velvet curtains.

Usage: Often repeated as 'hee hee' to represent a giggle.

## Examples

- Hee was a man of great honor.
- In the original printing of the play, the character is referred to as 'hee' throughout the first act.
- Scholars of early modern manuscripts must remain alert to orthographic variations, such as the addition of a terminal 'e' in 'hee', which was common before spelling became standardized.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.