my %HOH = {}; %hash1 = ( key1 => 'value1', key2 => 'value2', key3 => 'value3', ); %hash2 = ( key1 => 'value1', key2 => 'value2', key3 => 'value3', ); $HOH{'1'} = %hash1; $HOH{'2'} = %hash2;