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.

You just use it cause it's a term that you grew up in the neighborhood saying. It's like being from Pennsylvania and saying "youse" instead of "you". Hella originated in the bay area like hella years ago. It was just something that grew on you and you still use it today cause you never grew out of it. Some guy from Vegas tried to tell me hella started in Vegas and I was like "Fuck that. Dude you gotta be fucking retarded, hell no."

What Chloe from Life is Strange offten sais.

Term used to indicate personal superiority. When spoken in conversation, the receiving party immediatley knows that the person saying the word is of a high class because of that person's NorCal roots.
Thusly, if the receiver is not of the same geography and stature, negative emotions arise from envy. A primary example is that of the frustrated SoCal dweller who is frequently subjected to the mighty and humbling presence of NorCalers.
Alternatively, Hella can alert other prestigious NorCalers that they are dealing with a higher species much like themselves.

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.

Noun. An abundance of.

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.