hardship

/ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/

//ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp// noun

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

"hardship" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hardship” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,731. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,731
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Difficulty or trouble; hard times.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hardship · hardship · English

hardship · rank #13,731 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,731
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hanged

Nearest frequency peer: hanged (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hardship”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hardship” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for hardship
PropertyValue
Headwordhardship
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/
Letters8
Frequency rank#13,731
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hardship”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).hardshiplands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hanged” (#13,730), “Harlem” (#13,732), “graveyard” (#13,729). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hardship” is #13,731. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around hardship (IPA /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,731 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for hardship, with forms such as "ahrdship", "hadrship", and "harddship". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hardshipe, equivalent to hard + -ship. The correct English form is hardship, spelled H-A-R-D-S-H-I-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Difficulty or trouble; hard times.
  2. 2
    A burden, a source of difficulty that could impose a barrier.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He has survived periods of financial hardship before.
  2. If train services of this kind were to be cut off, without any provision of alternative services, there would, of course, be hardship in some cases.

Etymology

From Middle English hardshipe, equivalent to hard + -ship.

Antonyms

softshipenthusiasm

This word in other languages

sufrimiento(Español)difficultés(Français)Härte(Deutsch)dificuldade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahrdship
  • hadrship
  • harddship
  • hardhsip
  • hardshhip
  • hardshipp
  • hardshpi
  • hardsihp
  • hardsship
  • harrdship
  • harsdhip
  • hhardship
  • hradship

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hardship - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ahrdship2hadrship2harddship1hardhsip2hardshhip1hardshipp1hardshpi2hardsihp2
Edit distance from "hardship"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hardship"?
"hardship" is spelled H-A-R-D-S-H-I-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/.
What does "hardship" mean?
As a noun, "hardship" means: Difficulty or trouble; hard times.
What are common misspellings of "hardship"?
Common misspellings include "ahrdship", "hadrship", "harddship", "hardhsip", "hardshhip". The correct spelling is "hardship".
How do you pronounce "hardship"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hardship" is /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hardship"?
From Middle English hardshipe, equivalent to hard + -ship. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hardship", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

follower#13,721endeavor#13,710mandated#13,756discrete#13,700

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

lucrative13 variantsdisguised13 variantsconsulate13 variantsoutsiders13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list