Explanation
Use "hard" when you mean "with a lot of effort." It can also be an adjective, so "hard" can describe a thing, like a hard chair. Use "hardly" when you mean "almost not."
For example, "She works hard every day." Here "She" is the subject, "works" is the verb, and "hard" tells us how she works. In Japanese, this is "毎日一生懸命働く". Do not use "hardly" for this meaning, because "I hardly work" means "I almost do not work."
「hard」は「一生懸命に」「力を入れて」という意味で使います。形容詞としては「かたい」「難しい」という意味にもなります。いっぽう "hardly" は「ほとんど〜ない」という意味です。
例えば "She works hard every day." では、"She" が主語、"works" が動詞、"hard" が「どのように働くか」を表しています。日本語では「毎日一生懸命働く」です。この意味で "hardly" を使うと、"I hardly work" は「私はほとんど働きません」という意味になるので注意してください。
Examples
- This chair is hard. この椅子はかたいです。
- She works hard every day. 彼女は毎日一生懸命働きます。
- I studied hard for the test. テストのために一生懸命勉強しました。
- Do you have to work hard on Saturdays? 土曜日は一生懸命働かなければいけませんか。
- He hardly ever drinks coffee. 彼はコーヒーをほとんど飲みません。
- There is hardly any milk left. 牛乳はほとんど残っていません。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often mix up "hard" and "hardly."
Wrong: "I studied hardly for the exam."
Right: "I studied hard for the exam."
"Hardly" means "almost not," so "I hardly studied for the exam" means you did very little studying.
日本人学習者は "hard" と "hardly" をよく混同します。
誤り: "I studied hardly for the exam."
正しくは: "I studied hard for the exam."
"hardly" は「ほとんど〜ない」という意味なので、"I hardly studied for the exam" は「ほとんど勉強しなかった」という意味になります。