generally
/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.li/adverb
generally is spelled G-E-N-E-R-A-L-L-Y. The wrong spelling people search most is generaly: about 40 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 17 of all searches for the word. Generally is an adverb meaning “Popularly or widely”.
How many letters and syllables are in generally?
| Letters | 9: G-E-N-E-R-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 89 times per million words; the 1,191st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, generaly, about 40 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell generally?
Generally is spelled G-E-N-E-R-A-L-L-Y. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 17 of the searches for generally in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is generally?
Generally appears 89 times per million words in written English, the 1,191st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce generally?
- UK /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɹə.li/
- UK /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹə.li/
- US /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.li/
Generally has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-generally.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of generally
- most generally superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does generally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Popularly or widely.
It is generally known that the Earth is round.
- 2
As a rule; usually; typically; in most cases.
I generally have a walk in the afternoon.
- 3
Without reference to specific details.
Generally speaking …
- 4
In the general case, without exception; in all cases.
It is generally true that the angles of a triangle sum to 180 degrees.
- 5
obsoleteCollectively; as a whole; without omissions.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate generally?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of generally: gen..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Generally in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | généralement, en général |
| German | allgemein, gewöhnlich, im Allgemeinen , hauptsächlich, überhaupt, üblicherweise |
| Portuguese | geralmente, em geral , de modo geral |
| Spanish | generalmente, por lo general |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does generally come from?
From Middle English generally, generalliche, equivalent to general + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).