Which to use
“harsh” is an adjective and “harshly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,687
- “harsh” frequency rank
- #20,375
- “harshly” frequency rank
- 26062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | harsh | harshly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses. | In a harsh manner; severely. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set harsh and harshly apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: harsh is /hɑɹʃ/ while harshly is /ˈhɑːʃli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “harsh” sits inside “harshly”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
harsh is recorded at frequency rank #5,687, classified as anadj, pronounced /hɑɹʃ/. harshly is at rank #20,375, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈhɑːʃli/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 26062, this pair ranks #389,495 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of harsh vs harshly
Shared letters: ahrs. Private to "harsh": -. Private to "harshly": ly.
"harsh" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "harshly" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "harsh" and "harshly" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "harsh" or "harshly"?
Remembering harsh vs harshly
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “harsh”; for an adverb, it's “harshly”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “harsh” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable