In Northern California, people tend to name quantities of various items slightly different. The 1st is one, the 2nd is two, the 3rd and beyond are hella.

1. Originated in Oakland in the mid-70s.
2. Was originally pronounced "hell of" (NOT "hell of a").
3. Examples:
4. Was funny because it confused people.
5. First used in a movie: E.T. (1982). Boy looks in fridge and mumbles to himself, "there's nothin' but hella shit in here."
6. Kids began to say "heck of" to keep from getting in trouble w/ parents.

Maximally quantifying term; originated in Northern California.

Hella is used mainly in Northern California/Central Valley. If one from NorCal or the Valley goes to vacation to the coast or SoCal and uses hella, they might be shunned or easily spotted as a tourist. Most who are not from the Valley or NorCal do not know how to use hella properly.

i'm from norcal so pretty much we say hella a lot. it means very, a lot, or just to throw it in because nothing else works. socal people trip too hard off it.

A word originating in the San Francisco Bay Area and used by Northern Californians. It is often a symbol of one's Bay Area words. It is a word of convenience, since it can be used in many parts of speech. As an adjective, it means "a lot of, many, various." As an adverb, it means "really, actually, very, in a high degree." It may also mean "I agree."

It may be useful to note that the expression "hella days" usually denotes a length of time much longer than several days.

The word "Hella" actually is known within California as being a "Northern" California term. Gwen Stefani used it in her song "Hella Good" as a tongue in cheek ode to her Northern Californian friends who would say it alot.

Used to overexaggerate adjectives in place of "really", "very". Also used to convey large numbers.