nearly

[ˈnɪəli]

/[ˈnɪəli]/ adv

The verdict

“nearly” 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 September 3, 2026) - fast, beinahe

Corpus desk

Index DE-nearly · nearly · German

nearly · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for nearly
PropertyValue
Headwordnearly
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ˈnɪəli]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „nearly“ im Deutschen

nearlyschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

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

Rare enough to double-check

nearly is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [ˈnɪəli]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "fast, beinahe".

nearly has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is nearly, spelled N-E-A-R-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    fast, beinahe

Synonyms

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 "nearly"?
"nearly" is spelled N-E-A-R-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈnɪəli].
What does "nearly" mean?
As an adverb, "nearly" means: fast, beinahe
How do you pronounce "nearly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nearly" is [ˈnɪəli]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nearly" come from?
"nearly" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list