physically
/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kli/adverb
physically is spelled P-H-Y-S-I-C-A-L-L-Y. The wrong spelling people search most is physicaly: about 70 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 23 of all searches for the word. Physically is an adverb meaning “In a physical manner”.
How many letters and syllables are in physically?
| Letters | 10: P-H-Y-S-I-C-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,302nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, physicaly, about 70 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 physically?
Physically is spelled P-H-Y-S-I-C-A-L-L-Y. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 15 of the searches for physically 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 physically?
Physically appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,302nd 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 physically?
- US /ˈfɪz.ɪ.kli/
Physically 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-physically.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of physically
- more physically comparative
- most physically superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does physically mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a physical manner.
- 2
According to the laws of physics.
- 3
Using physical force.
- 4
informalDirectly, rather than automatically or similar.
After the software updated, I had to go in and physically change all the settings back to the way I wanted them.
- 5
obsoleteAccording to the rules of medicine.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Physically in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | physiquement |
| German | physisch , physikalisch |
| Portuguese | fisicamente |
| Spanish | físicamente |
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 physically come from?
From physic + -ally or physical + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).