specially

[ˈspɛʃəlɪ]

/[ˈspɛʃəlɪ]/ adv

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - besonders, aus einem besonderen Grund, nur (für jemanden etwas tun)

Corpus desk

Index DE-specially · specially · German

specially · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" 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 specially
PropertyValue
Headwordspecially
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ˈspɛʃəlɪ]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „specially“ im Deutschen

speciallysitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

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

Rare enough to double-check

specially is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [ˈspɛʃəlɪ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for specially, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is specially, spelled S-P-E-C-I-A-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    besonders, aus einem besonderen Grund, nur (für jemanden etwas tun)
  2. 2
    herausragend, beispiellos, über die Maßen (gut)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how specially appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I made this specially for your birthday.
  2. I enjoyed the evening, but the meal wasn't specially good.

Synonyms

especiallyexceptionallyparticularlyextraordinary

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 "specially"?
"specially" is spelled S-P-E-C-I-A-L-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈspɛʃəlɪ].
What does "specially" mean?
As an adverb, "specially" means: besonders, aus einem besonderen Grund, nur (für jemanden etwas tun)
How do you pronounce "specially"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "specially" is [ˈspɛʃəlɪ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "specially" come from?
"specially" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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