hardly
gb/hˈɑɹdli/ us/hˈɑɹdli/
A2
Kiingereza
~ 1200
alig, alighogy
A2
1
alig
A2
Muundo wa matumizi:
hardly [verb]
I can hardly hear you over the noise.
Alig hallak a zajtól.
She hardly spoke during the meeting.
Alig beszélt az értekezlet alatt.
We hardly have enough time to finish this project.
It's hardly surprising that they lost the game.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
I hardly know him.
Alig ismerem.
She hardly eats any sweets.
Alig eszik édességet.
We hardly have any milk left.
He hardly talks in class.
Kosa la kawaida:
Learners sometimes confuse 'hardly' with 'with difficulty.' In modern English, 'hardly' usually means 'almost not,' not 'with hard effort.'
Maana
Almost not at all
Miunganiko ya maneno
hardly ever
|hardly noticeable
|hardly worth it
|hardly enough
Visawe
barely (Very close in meaning; often interchangeable, but 'barely' can sometimes sound slightly more formal or emphatic.)
Vinyume
easily (Opposite in the sense of something being done with no difficulty instead of almost not at all.)
Mada
daily life
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
Used to say that something is almost not true or happens very little.
Used to emphasize that something is only just true, or is true to a very small degree.
B1
2
Muundo wa matumizi:
hardly [past perfect verb] when [past tense clause]
I had hardly sat down when the phone rang.
Alighogy leültem, máris megszólalt a telefon.
She had hardly started her speech before the fire alarm went off.
Alighogy elkezdte a beszédét, máris megszólalt a tűzjelző.
We had hardly arrived when it began to rain.
Mifano kwa wanafunzi
I had hardly eaten when he called.
Alighogy befejeztem az evést, máris felhívott.
She had hardly begun when it was time to stop.
Alighogy elkezdte, máris abba kellett hagynia.
We had hardly left when it started to snow.
Kosa la kawaida:
Learners may confuse this with the simple past. This pattern often uses the past perfect for the first clause and past tense for the second.
Maana
Only a short time ago
Miunganiko ya maneno
had hardly begun
|hardly finished
|hardly started
Visawe
scarcely (Very similar meaning; 'scarcely' is slightly more formal and less common in everyday speech.)
Vinyume
long before (Indicates much more time between two events, opposite of 'only just before.')
Mada
daily life
|storytelling
|time
|core_vocabulary
Ufafanuzi
Used to say something happened not long before another thing.
Used to say that something happened only a short time before another event.
Sarufi
Umbo la kamusi
hardly
IPA
GB/hˈɑɹdli/
US/hˈɑɹdli/
Silabi na mkazo
hardly (silabi 1)
Stress on 1st syllable (hardly)
Maumbo ya neno
Noun
- Base: hardly
- Plural: hardlies
Familia ya neno
Semi
can hardly wait
1/kən hˈɑɹdli wˈeɪt/
fixed phrase
Very eager for something
Used to say you are very excited about something that will happen soon.
Mifano
- I can hardly wait for the weekend to arrive.
- She can hardly wait to see her family again.
could hardly believe
1/kˈʊd hˈɑɹdli bɪlˈiv/
fixed phrase
Almost unable to believe
Used to say you found something very surprising or hard to accept as true.
Mifano
- I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the price.
- He could hardly believe she had won the race.
hardly ever
1/hˈɑɹdli ˈɛvɚ/
fixed phrase
Almost never
Used to say that something happens very rarely.
Mifano
- I hardly ever go to the cinema these days.
- She hardly ever eats chocolate.
- She hardly ever eats meat.