$hh{2}{6}{4} = -1; $hh{3}{5} = -1; $hh{99} = -1; use Data::Dumper; print Dumper( \%hh); __END__ $VAR1 = { '99' => -1, '3' => { '5' => -1 }, '2' => { '6' => { '4' => -1 } } };