A perfect rhyme for “help” ends in /ɛlp/, the sound from its stressed vowel to the end of the word. Near rhymes differ by a single sound, which is enough to end a line beside “help” without matching it exactly. Most of the near rhymes end in one of two sounds, /ɛl/ or /ɛmp/.
Spoken aloud, “help” is /hɛlp/, respelled HEHLP, one syllable. With a single syllable there is nothing in front of the stress, so a rhyme has to match the word in full.
“Help” has 3 perfect rhymes in common use (yelp, kelp and self-help) and 20 near rhymes.
In This Page
What Rhymes With Help
Yelp, kelp and self-help rhyme with “help”, each one ending in /ɛlp/ from the stressed vowel on. A word that changes one sound of that ending, such as well or temp, reads as a near rhyme instead.
- Yelp
- Kelp
- Self-help
- Well
- Tell
- Sell
- Hotel
- Fell
- Cell
- Smell
- Bell
- Spell
Perfect Rhymes With Help
- Yelp
- Kelp
- Self-help
Near Rhymes With Help
The near rhymes for “help” number 20, and most of them end in /ɛl/, as well and tell do. Temp and hemp end in /ɛmp/, the second most common ending. A single changed sound is the difference between most near rhymes for “help” and a perfect rhyme on /ɛlp/.
Near Rhymes For Help Ending In -ell: Well And Tell
Well, tell and sell share the ending /ɛl/, which is the ending of “help” without its final /p/.
- Well
- Tell
- Sell
- Hotel
- Fell
- Cell
- Smell
- Bell
- Spell
- Doorbell
- Yell
- Farewell
- Shell
- Motel
- Mel
Help Rhymes With An -emp Ending: Temp And Hemp
With /m/ in place of the /l/ of “help”, the ending becomes /ɛmp/, as in temp and hemp.
- Temp
- Hemp
Rebel /ɛbəl/ and scalp /ælp/ also rhyme loosely with “help”, though no other common word shares their endings.
Consonance Rhymes With Help
In consonance, two words have the same stressed vowel and end on consonants of the same kind, and this is the nearest match any single word has to “help”. The endings are listed from the nearest match to the loosest, and 48 words on six endings qualify.
Consonance For Help Like Held And Smelled
Held, smelled and yelled end in /ɛld/, on the stressed vowel of “help” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Held
- Smelled
- Yelled
- Expelled
- Compelled
- Spelled
- Withheld
- Weld
Consonance For Help Like Felt And Belt
Words ending in /ɛlt/ share the stressed vowel of “help” and end on a related consonant.
- Felt
- Belt
- Dealt
- Melt
- Seatbelt
- Heartfelt
- Smelt
- Pelt
Consonance For Help Like Best And Rest
The /ɛst/ ending appears in eight words, each pronounced with the stressed vowel of “help”.
Consonance For Help Like Perfect And Expect
Against “help”, the /ɛkt/ ending matches the stressed vowel and differs after it, as in perfect, expect and protect.
- Perfect
- Expect
- Protect
- Respect
- Suspect
- Correct
- Checked
- Subject
Consonance For Help Like Friend And End
Friend, end and send end in /ɛnd/, on the stressed vowel of “help” and a consonant of the same kind.
Consonance For Help Like Went And Sent
Words ending in /ɛnt/ share the stressed vowel of “help” and end on a related consonant.
- Went
- Sent
- President
- Meant
- Spent
- Rent
- Event
- Percent
Does Temp Rhyme With Help
People often ask whether these words rhyme with “help”. Only the sounds from the stressed vowel on count, so two words can share four letters and still not rhyme.
| Word | Rhymes With Help | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Yelp | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Kelp | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Self-help | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Temp | Near rhyme | /m/ in place of the /l/ of "help", near enough for the end of a line |
| Scalp | Near rhyme | /æ/ in place of the /ɛ/ of "help", near enough for the end of a line |
| Pulp | Consonance only | Same stressed vowel, and the final consonant is of the same kind rather than the same sound |
The Ending Sound In Help
“Help” ends in the rhyme sound /ɛlp/, made up of the stressed vowel /ɛ/ followed by /l/ and /p/. The same ending is shared by three other common words, among them yelp, kelp and self-help.
Rhyme Schemes With Help
In the stanza forms poets use most, “help” rhymes with yelp and kelp. In the scheme, lines with the same letter rhyme with each other.
| Scheme | Line endings | How The Lines Pair |
|---|---|---|
| AABB | Help / yelp / kelp / self-help | Two couplets in a row, each pair rhyming on consecutive lines. |
| ABAB | Help / well / yelp / tell | Alternating lines, with the near rhymes on the B lines and the perfect pair on the A lines. |
| ABCB | … / help / … / yelp | Only the second and fourth lines rhyme, as in the ballad stanza and in most hymns. |
FAQs
Only three common words rhyme perfectly with “help”: yelp, kelp and self-help. They have the full ending /ɛlp/, a sound few English words share. Writers who need a different word can use near rhymes such as tell, sell and smell.
Everyday things that rhyme with “help” include well, hotel, fell and cell. All of them are near rhymes, because no common noun repeats the full ending /ɛlp/.
Counting perfect and near rhymes together, “help” has 23 rhymes in common English. Of these, three are perfect rhymes with its whole /ɛlp/ ending, and 20 are near rhymes with one sound of it different.
The closest near rhymes for “help” are bell, spell, el, doorbell, yell and farewell. They share the stressed vowel /ɛ/ with “help”, and the sounds after it differ. Songwriters use them when a perfect rhyme sounds too predictable at the end of a line.
