hardly

[hɑːdli]

/[hɑːdli]/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“hardly” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - kaum; schwerlich; fast nicht

Key facts for hardly
PropertyValue
Headwordhardly
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[hɑːdli]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hardly” sits in German frequency

hardly falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hardly is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [hɑːdli]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "kaum; schwerlich; fast nicht".

hardly has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is hardly, spelled H-A-R-D-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    kaum; schwerlich; fast nicht

Synonyms

barelyscarcely

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hardly"?
"hardly" is spelled H-A-R-D-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [hɑːdli].
What does "hardly" mean?
As an adverb, "hardly" means: kaum; schwerlich; fast nicht
How do you pronounce "hardly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hardly" is [hɑːdli]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hardly" come from?
"hardly" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “hardly”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is H-A-R-D-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [hɑːdli] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list