thankfully
adverb
thankfully is spelled T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L-L-Y: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, thankfully means “In a thankful manner; giving thanks” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thankfully?
| Letters | 10: T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is thankfully?
Thankfully appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th 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 thankfully?
- US
Thankfully has 3 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)-Flame,_not_lame-thankfully.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thankfully
- more thankfully comparative
- most thankfully superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thankfully mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a thankful manner; giving thanks.
- 2
proscribedfortunately, gratefully.
I was almost late for work, but thankfully there wasn't much traffic on the roads.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thankfully in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fortunately:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Gott sei Dank, glücklich |
| Spanish | afortunadamente, gracias a Dios |
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 thankfully come from?
From Middle English thankfully, thankefully, þonkfulliche, from Old English þancfullīċe, equivalent to thankful + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).