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PlainSpell

really

re·al·lyUK /ˈɹɪə.li/adverb, interjection, verb

really is spelled R-E-A-L-L-Y, 3 syllables: re·al·ly. The wrong spelling people search most is realy: about 350 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 11 of all searches for the word. Really is an adverb meaning “In a way or manner that is real, not unreal”.

How many letters and syllables are in really?

Letters6: R-E-A-L-L-Y
Syllables3: re·al·ly
In writing933 times per million words; the 114th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched9; the most searched, realy, about 350 Bing searches a month (all of them)
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How do you spell really?

Really is spelled R-E-A-L-L-Y. 9 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for really in either form.

reallythe right spelling3,470 searches a month
realya missing l350 searches a month
realiyi in place of l20 searches a month
erallyr and e swapped10 searches a month
raellye and a swapped10 searches a month
realleyan extra e10 searches a month
realllyan extra l10 searches a month
relalya and l swapped10 searches a month
realllllyan extra l, an extra l, an extra lfound in writing, not measured in search

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 really?

Really appears 933 times per million words in written English, the 114th 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 really?

  • UK /ˈɹɪə.li/
  • UK [ˈɹʷɪə̯lɪ]
  • UK [-li]

Really has 3 syllables, split re·al·ly in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-really.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with really

Also written: re-ally (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with really?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as really (/ɪəli/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: yaller.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of really

  • more really comparative
  • most really superlative
  • real-ly
  • reälly
  • reallies present, singular, he/she/it
  • reallying participle, present
  • reallied participle, past
  • more reälly comparative
  • most reälly superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does really mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adverb

  1. 1

    In a way or manner that is real, not unreal.

  2. 2

    Actually; in fact; in reality.

    "He really is a true friend." / "Really? What makes you so sure?"

  3. 3

    informalVery (modifying an adjective); very much (modifying a verb).

    But ma, I really, really want to go to the show!

interjection

  1. 1

    informalIndicating surprise at, or requesting confirmation of, some new information; to express skepticism.

    A: He won the Nobel Prize yesterday.

  2. 2

    informalA phatic confirmation by a listener, to signal active listening; mostly devoid of literal meaning, with the phatically contrived incredulity being merely formulaic.

    A: You know, I saw Oliver the other day.

  3. 3

    informalIndicating that what was just said was obvious and unnecessary; contrived incredulity

    A: I've just been reading Shakespeare - he's one of the best authors like, ever!

  4. 4

    USinformalIndicating affirmation, agreement.

    A: That girl talks about herself way too much.

  5. 5

    informalIndicating displeasure at another person's behaviour or statement.

    Well, really! How rude.

adverb

as reälly
  1. 1

    nonstandard(obsolete) Rare spelling of really.

verb

  1. 1

    Alternative form of re-ally.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate really?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of really: rlly, rly.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Really in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchvraiment (actually), ah bon (indicating surprise at, or requesting…)
Germanwirklich (actually), (ach) ja?, echt?, wirklich?, tatsächlich? (indicating surprise at, or requesting…), ach nee (sarcastic, typically exaggerated question)
Portuguesena verdade, realmente, mesmo (actually), sério? (indicating surprise at, or requesting…)
Spanishrealmente (actually), ¿de verdad?, ¿de veras?, en serio (indicating surprise at, or requesting…)

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 really come from?

From Middle English really, realy, rialliche, equivalent to real + -ly.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after really