hard

See also: Hard, härd, and hård

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: häd, IPA^(key): /hɑːd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: härd, IPA^(key): /hɑɹd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)d

Etymology 1

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz, from Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús, from *kret- (“strong, powerful”). Cognate with German hart, Swedish hård, Ancient Greek κρατύς (kratús), Sanskrit क्रतु (krátu), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬀𐬙𐬎 (xratu).

Adjective

hard (comparative harder or more hard, superlative hardest or most hard)

1. (of material or fluid) Solid and firm.
   • 2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 5:

     Luckily she wasn’t there any more, no one was, when he returned from the Caribbean carnival damp-hatted and soaked through after being caught unprepared by a squall of hard, hot rain.

   1. Resistant to pressure; difficult to break, cut, or penetrate.

      This bread is so stale and hard, I can barely cut it.

   2. (of drink or drugs) Strong.
   3. (of a normally nonalcoholic drink) Containing alcohol.

      hard cider, hard lemonade, hard seltzer, hard soda

      • 2023 March 1, Rachel Ellison, “Bad Dates Turn Out to Be Excellent on TikTok”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

        Stunned, she deleted his number and went home. Then she cracked a hard seltzer, opened her phone’s camera and filmed a TikTok video recounting the evening  […].

   4. (of water) High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.
   5. (physics, of a ferromagnetic material) Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).
   6. (physics, of electromagnetic radiation) Having a high energy (high frequency; short wavelength).

      hard X-rays

   7. (photography, of light) Made up of parallel rays, producing clearly defined shadows.
2. (personal or social) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
   1. Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with.

      a hard problem;  a hard question;  a hard topic

      • 1988, Edmund White, An Oracle:

        Ray found it hard to imagine having accumulated so many mannerisms before the dawn of sex, of the sexual need to please, of the staginess sex encourages or the tightly capped wells of poisoned sexual desire the disappointed must stand guard over.

      • 1999 January 21, Alan Bennett, “What I did in 1998”, in London Review of Books, volume 21, number 2:

        The stone circle is small and hard to find and the search is made harder because all down the beck cars are parked on the verge and the supposedly unfrequented road up the valley very busy.

      • 2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32:

        The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile.

      • 2016 January 2, James Romm, “Beginning Greek, Again and Again”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

        It’s been said that, for nonstellar teachers at least, the hardest things to teach are the things one loves most.

   2. Demanding a lot of effort to endure.

      a hard life

   4. Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal.

      a hard master;  a hard heart;  hard words;  a hard character

      The senator asked the party chief to put the hard word on his potential rivals.

      • 1730, [Henry Fielding], Rape upon Rape; or, The Justice Caught in His Own Trap. A Comedy. […], London: […] J. Wat[t]s, […], →OCLC, Act IV, scene vii, page 58:

        [L]eave off fornicating, leave the Girls to the Boys, and ſtand to thy Bottle: It is a Virtue becoming our Years; and don't be too hard on a vvild honeſt young Rake.

   5. (dated) Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
      • 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:

        The stag was too hard for the horse.

      • 1716 March 23 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 24. Monday, March 12. [1716.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC:

        a power which will be always too hard for them

   6. (military) Hardened; having unusually strong defences.

      a hard site

   7. (slang) Tough, muscular, badass.

      He thinks he's well hard.

      • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 108:

        I was a hard niggah, but not twisted enough to eat and socialize with my peeps knowing I was planning on robbing them before the night was over.

   8. (slang) Excellent, impressive.

      This song goes hard.

      This guy always has the hardest fits.

3. Unquestionable; unequivocal.

   hard evidence;  a hard requirement

   • 1796, The History of the Trial of Warren Hastings‎^[3]:

     […] for, unless supported by hard facts, abusive words would recoil on him who used them, and would pass like empty air over the head of an innocent man.

   • 1962, The Selling Power of a Woman‎^[4]:

     Here are a few techniques to turn a hard "no" into an easy "yes"!

   • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:

     Unsurprisingly for a man who went into mourning for three years after the death in 1994 of his own father, the legendary leader Kim Il-sung, and who in the first 30 years of his political career made no public statements, even to his own people, Kim's career is riddled with claims, counter claims, speculation, and contradiction. There are few hard facts about his birth and early years.

4. (of a road intersection) Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle.

   At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the hard left.

5. (slang, vulgar, of a male) Sexually aroused; having an erect penis.

   I got so hard watching two hot girls wrestle each other on the beach.

6. (bodybuilding) Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.
7. (phonetics, not comparable) Fortis.
   1. Plosive.

      There is a hard c in "clock" and a soft c in "centre".

   2. Unvoiced.

      Hard k, t, s, ch, as distinguished from soft, g, d, z, j.

8. (Slavic phonology) Velarized or plain, rather than palatalized.

   The letter ж (ž) in Russian is always hard.

9. (art) Having a severe property; presenting a barrier to enjoyment.
   1. Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.
   2. Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in colour or shading.
10. (not comparable)
    1. In a physical form, not digital.

       a soft or hard copy; a digital or hard archive

    2. Using a manual or physical process, not by means of a software command.

       a hard reboot or reset

11. (politics) Far, extreme.

    hard right, hard left

12. Of silk: not having had the natural gum boiled off.
13. (finance) Of a market: having more demand than supply; being a seller's market.

    Antonym: soft

    • 2009, J. David Cummins, Olivier Mahul, Catastrophe Risk Financing in Developing Countries, page 7:

      Undercapitalized insurers cannot retain more catastrophe risks when the market is hard […]

14. (of pornography) Hardcore.

Synonyms

• (resistant to pressure): resistant, solid, stony, see also Thesaurus:hard
• (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand): confusing, difficult, puzzling, tough, tricky
• (requiring a lot of effort to endure): difficult, intolerable, tough, unbearable
• (severe): harsh, hostile, severe, strict, tough, unfriendly
• (unquestionable): incontrovertible, indubitable, unambiguous, unequivocal, unquestionable
• (of drink): strong
• See also Thesaurus:difficult

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “resistant to pressure”): soft
• (antonym(s) of “requiring a lot of effort to do or understand”): easy, simple, straightforward, trite
• (antonym(s) of “requiring a lot of effort to endure”): bearable, easy
• (antonym(s) of “severe”): agreeable, amiable, approachable, friendly, nice, pleasant
• (antonym(s) of “unquestionable”): controvertible, doubtful, ambiguous, equivocal, questionable
• (antonym(s) of “of drink”):
  • (antonym(s) of “low in alcohol”): low-alcohol
  • (antonym(s) of “non-alcoholic”): alcohol-free, soft, non-alcoholic
• (antonym(s) of “of roads”): soft
• (antonym(s) of “sexually aroused”): soft, flaccid
• (antonym(s) of “phonetics, all senses”): soft

Derived terms

• an old dog for a hard road
• between a rock and a hard place
• blow-hard
• bone-hard
• bone hard
• cold hard cash
• die-hard
• do the hard yards
• drive a hard bargain
• dumb hard
• fall on hard times
• find out the hard way
• give someone a hard time
• go hard
• go hard or go home
• go hard with someone
• hard act to follow
• hard and fast
• hard-and-fast
• hard-arse
• hard as a rock
• hard as brazil
• hard as Chinese algebra
• hard as iron
• hard as nails
• hard-ass
• hard-assed
• hard-assery
• hard as the nether millstone
• hard atheism
• hard atheist
• hard at work
• hardback
• hardbag
• hardbake
• hardball
• hard-bill
• hard-block
• hardboard
• hard-boil
• hard-boiled
• hard bop
• hard bread
• hard Brexit
• hard by
• hard c
• hard candy
• hard case
• hard cases make bad law
• hard cash
• hard charger
• hard-charging
• hard cheese
• hard cider
• hard clam
• hard class
• hard coal
• hard code
• hard-code
• hard coded
• hard copy
• hard core
• hard-core, hardcore
• hard count
• hard-counter
• hard counter
• hard court
• hardcourt
• hard-cured
• hard currency
• hard deck
• hard deletion
• hard determinism
• hard determinist
• hard disc
• hard disc drive
• hard disk
• hard disk drive
• hard dough bread
• hard drink
• hard drive
• hard-driving
• hard drop
• hard drug
• hard-easy effect
• hard edge
• hard-edged
• hard-edge painting
• harden
• harder daddy
• hard error
• harder than Chinese math
• hardface
• hard facts
• hard fault
• hard-favored, hard-favoured
• hard-featured
• hard feelings
• hard fern
• hard-fisted
• hard food
• hard fork
• hard freeze
• hard g
• hard gainer
• hard going
• hard goods
• hard-grained
• hard grass
• hardhack
• hard hand
• hard handed
• hard-handed
• hard-handedly
• hard-handedness
• hard hat
• hard head
• hard-headed
• hard-head, hardhead
• hard-hearted, hardhearted
• hard-heartedly
• hard-heartedness
• hard hit
• hardish
• hard jade
• hard kill
• hard knocks
• hard labor, hard labour
• hard-land
• hard land
• hard landing
• hard landscaping
• hard-launch
• hard launch
• hard-left
• hard left
• hard lemonade
• hard lens
• hard light
• hardline
• hard-line
• hard line
• hard-liner, hardliner
• hard lines
• hard link
• hard liquor
• hard loser
• hard luck
• hard-luck
• hard-luck story
• hard luxury
• hardly
• hard man, hardman
• hard maple
• hard market
• hard matte
• hard measles
• hard metal
• hard milkwood
• hard money
• hard-mouthed
• hard multum
• hard mutation
• hard nail
• hard neck
• hardness
• hard news
• hard nose
• hard-nose
• hard nosed
• hard-nosed, hardnosed
• hard nut to crack
• hard of hearing
• hard of seeing
• hard of thinking
• hardometer
• hard-on, hardon
• hard on the eyes
• hard out
• hard palate
• hard-pan, hardpan
• hard pass
• hard-paste
• hard paste
• hard paywall
• hard pill to swallow
• hard pine
• hard power
• hard put
• hard R
• hard r
• hard radiation
• hard rain
• hard real-time
• hard reboot
• hard redirect
• hard reset
• hard return
• hard right
• hard-right
• hard rock
• hard rocker
• hard roe
• hard row to hoe
• hard rubber
• hard-run
• hard sauce
• hard science
• hard science fiction
• hard-scrabble
• hardscrabble
• hard-sectored
• hard sectoring
• hard sell
• hard-sell
• hard seltzer
• hard-set
• hard-shell clam
• hardshelled
• hard-shell, hardshell
• hardship
• hard shoulder
• hard sign
• hard skill
• hard sledding
• hard soap
• hard space
• hard standing
• hard start
• hard steel
• hard stop
• hard stuff
• hard swap
• hard swearing
• hard tack
• hard-tack, hardtack
• hardtail
• hard target
• hard tech
• hard tick
• hard-ticket
• hard time
• hard times
• hard to come by
• hard-to-get
• hardtop
• hard to please
• hard to swallow
• hard truth
• hard up
• hard-up
• hard vacuum
• hard war
• hardware
• hard water
• hard way
• hard wheat
• hard white
• hard-wire
• hard wired
• hardwood
• hard word
• hard words
• hard work
• hard yakka
• hard yards
• have a hard time
• have a hard time of it
• have it hard
• hit hard
• hit one hard
• hold hard
• hold yew hard
• learn the hard way
• leather-hard
• make hard work of
• make someone hard to catch
• Nintendo hard
• no hard feelings
• NP-hard
• old habits die hard
• over hard
• play hard to get
• put the hard word on
• Queen's hard bargain
• rad-hard
• ridden hard and put away wet
• rock hard
• rock-hard
• rode hard and put up wet
• school of hard knocks
• semi-hard
• stone-hard
• the hard way
• too hard basket
• too-hard basket
• try-hard
• working hard or hardly working

 

• English terms starting with “hard”

Related terms

• hardpeer
• hardy

Descendants

• → Finnish: haarti
• → Spanish: hard

Translations

resistant to pressure

• Abkhaz: акьакьа (akʲʼakʲʼa)
• Akan: den
• Albanian: fortë (sq)
• Arabic: صُلْب (ṣulb)

  Hijazi Arabic: قاسي (gāsi), صلب (ṣalb)

  Moroccan Arabic: قاصح (qāṣḥ)

• Aragonese: duro
• Armenian: պինդ (hy) (pind), կարծր (hy) (karcr)
• Asturian: duru (ast)
• Azerbaijani: sərt (az)
• Balinese: katos
• Bashkir: ҡаты (qatı)
• Basque: gogor
• Belarusian: цвёрды (be) (cvjórdy)
• Bengali: শক্ত (bn) (śokto)
• Bhojpuri: कड़ा (kaṛā)
• Bikol Central: matagas (bcl)
• Bulgarian: твърд (bg) (tvǎrd)
• Burmese: မာ (my) (ma)
• Carpathian Rusyn: твердый (tverdŷj)
• Catalan: dur (ca) m
• Cebuano: gahi
• Chamicuro: chmawa
• Cherokee: ᎠᏍᏓᏯ (asdaya), ᏍᏓᏯ (sdaya)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 硬 (zh) (yìng)

• Chuvash: хытӑ (hyt̬ă)
• Czech: tvrdý (cs) m
• Dalmatian: doir
• Danish: hård (da)
• Dutch: hard (nl)
• Esperanto: malmola
• Estonian: tahke, kõva
• Even: маӈ (maŋ)
• Evenki: маңа
• Finnish: kova (fi), kiinteä (fi), luja (fi)
• French: dur (fr) m
• Friulian: dûr
• Galician: duro (gl)
• Georgian: მაგარი (magari), მყარი (mq̇ari)
• German: hart (de), fest (de)
• Gothic: 𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌿𐍃 (hardus)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σκληρός (sklērós)

• Guaraní: hatã (gn)
• Haitian Creole: di
• Hebrew: קָשִׁיחַ (he) (kashíakh)
• Higaonon: madusan
• Hindi: कड़ा (hi) (kaṛā), कठोर (hi) (kaṭhor), सख़्त (saxt), सख्त (hi) (sakht), पायदार (hi) (pāydār)
• Hungarian: kemény (hu)
• Ibanag: nategga
• Icelandic: harður (is)
• Ido: harda (io)
• Ilocano: natangken
• Indonesian: keras (id)
• Interlingua: dur
• Irish: crua
• Istriot: doûro m
• Italian: duro (it) m
• Japanese: 硬い (ja) (かたい, katai)
• Javanese: atos
• Kapampangan: masias
• Kazakh: берік (berık), қатты (qatty)
• Khmer: កំព្រឹស (km) (kɑmprɨh), ក្រចើល (krɑcaəl)
• Korean: 딱딱하다 (ko) (ttakttakhada), 단단하다 (ko) (dandanhada)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: قایم (qaym)

  Northern Kurdish: req (ku)

• Kyrgyz: катуу (ky) (katuu)
• Lao: ແຂງ (khǣng)
• Latin: dūrus
• Latvian: ciets (lv)
• Limburgish: helle (li)
• Lithuanian: kietas (lt) m, kieta f
• Lombard: dur (lmo) m
• Macedonian: тврд (tvrd), цврст (cvrst)
• Malay: keras (ms)
• Maltese: iebes m
• Manchu: ᠮᠠᠩᡤᠠ (mangga)
• Maori: tuapaka, tūmārō, papamārō
• Mongolian: хатуугийн (xatuugiin), ᠬᠠᠳ᠋‍ᠠ‍ᡍᠣ
• Norwegian: hard
• Occitan: dur (oc) m
• Old English: heard (ang)
• Papiamentu: duru
• Pashto: کلک (klak)
• Persian: سفت (fa) (seft), پایدار (fa) (pâydâr), مقاوم (fa) (moqâvem), صلب (fa) (solb)
• Plautdietsch: hoat
• Polish: twardy (pl) m
• Portuguese: duro (pt) m
• Quechua: rumi
• Romanian: tare (ro), dur (ro)
• Romansch: dir, deir, dür
• Russian: твёрдый (ru) (tvjórdyj), кре́пкий (ru) (krépkij), про́чный (ru) (próčnyj)
• Sambali: matiboy
• Samoan: malō
• Sardinian: duru
• Scottish Gaelic: cruaidh
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: тврд

  Roman: tvrd (sh)

• Sicilian: duru (scn) m
• Slovak: tvrdý
• Slovene: tŕd (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: twardy

• Southern Altai: кату (katu)
• Spanish: duro (es)
• Swahili: -gumu (sw)
• Swedish: hård (sv)
• Tagalog: matigas
• Tajik: сахт (tg) (saxt)
• Tat: səxt
• Tatar: каты (qatı)
• Tausug: matugas
• Telugu: గట్టి (te) (gaṭṭi)
• Tetum: toos
• Thai: แข็ง (th) (kɛ̌ng)
• Turkish: sert (tr)
• Turkmen: gaty
• Ukrainian: тверди́й (tverdýj)
• Urdu: کڑا (kaṛā), سخت (saxt), کٹھور (kaṭhōr)
• Uyghur: قاتتىق (qattiq)
• Uzbek: qattiq (uz)
• Venetan: duro m, dur m
• Vietnamese: cứng (vi), rắn (vi)
• Walloon: deur (wa) m, deure (wa) f
• Welsh: caled (cy)
• Western Bukidnon Manobo: mezesen
• Yakut: кытаанах (kıtaanaq)
• Yiddish: האַרט (hart)

requiring a lot of effort to do or understand

• Arabic: صَعْب (ṣaʕb)

  Hijazi Arabic: صعب m (ṣaʕab)

  Moroccan Arabic: وَاعْر m (wāʕr)

  South Levantine Arabic: صعب m (ṣaʕ(e)b)

• Armenian: բարդ (hy) (bard), դժվար (hy) (džvar)
• Bashkir: ауыр (awır), ҡыйын (qıyın)
• Bulgarian: труден (bg) (truden)
• Catalan: complicat (ca), difícil (ca)
• Cebuano: lisod
• Chamicuro: yeewa
• Cherokee: ᏍᏓᏯ (sdaya)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 難／难 (zh) (nán), 困難／困难 (zh) (kùnnan)

• Czech: těžký (cs) m, obtížný (cs) m, krušný (cs) m
• Danish: vanskelig
• Dutch: moeilijk (nl), zwaar (nl)
• Egyptian: (qsn)
• Esperanto: malfacila
• Estonian: kõva
• Faroese: torførur, strævin, ringur
• Finnish: vaikea (fi), kova (fi), hankala (fi)
• French: dur (fr) m, difficile (fr) m or f
• German: schwierig (de), hart (de), schwer (de), herausfordernd (de)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus)
• Greek: δύσκολος (el) m (dýskolos)

  Ancient: χαλεπός (khalepós), ἐργώδης (ergṓdēs)

• Haitian Creole: difisil
• Hindi: कठिन (hi) (kaṭhin), मुश्किल (hi) (muśkil)
• Hungarian: nehéz (hu)
• Icelandic: erfiður (is)
• Ido: desfacila (io)
• Ilocano: narigat
• Interlingua: difficile
• Irish: doiligh
• Italian: duro (it) m, difficile (it) m or f, intenso (it)
• Japanese: 難しい (ja) (むずかしい, muzukashii), 困難な (ja) (こんなんな, konnan na)
• Korean: 어렵다 (ko) (eoryeopda)
• Kyrgyz: оор (ky) (oor)
• Latin: difficilis (la)
• Latvian: grūts m, smags (lv)
• Limburgish: helle (li)
• Lithuanian: sunkus (lt) m, sunki f
• Lombard: dur (lmo) m
• Macedonian: тежок m (težok)
• Malay: susah (ms)
• Navajo: nantłʼah
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vanskelig (no)

• Occitan: dificil (oc) m
• Old English: earfoþe
• Ottoman Turkish: دشوار (düşvâr)
• Pashto: ګران (grân)
• Persian: دشوار (fa) (došvâr), مشکل (fa) (moškel), سخت (fa) (saxt), صعب (fa) (sa'b)
• Polish: trudny (pl) m
• Portuguese: difícil (pt)
• Romanian: greu (ro)
• Russian: тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj), тру́дный (ru) m (trúdnyj)
• Samoan: faigatā
• Scottish Gaelic: doirbh, duilich
• Southern Altai: уур (uur)
• Spanish: duro (es), difícil (es), tranca (es) (Peru)
• Swahili: -gumu (sw)
• Swedish: svår (sv), besvärlig (sv)
• Tagalog: mahirap
• Tajik: мушкил (tg) (muškil)
• Tamil: கடினம் (ta) (kaṭiṉam)
• Telugu: కఠోర (kaṭhōra)
• Tetum: susar
• Thai: ยาก (th) (yâak)
• Tocharian B: waimene, āmāskai
• Tongan: faingataʻa
• Turkish: zor (tr), çetin (tr), kıyın (tr)
• Ukrainian: складни́й (skladnýj)
• Urdu: مشکل (muśkil), کٹھن (kaṭhin)
• Vietnamese: khó (vi)
• Walloon: deur (wa) m, målåjhey (wa) m
• Welsh: caled (cy), anodd (cy)
• Yiddish: שווער (shver), האַרב (harb)

demanding a lot of effort to endure

• Arabic: صَعْب (ṣaʕb)
• Armenian: ծանր (hy) (canr), դժվար (hy) (džvar)
• Bashkir: ҡыйын (qıyın)
• Bulgarian: тежък (bg) (težǎk), труден (bg) (truden)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: moeilijk (nl), zwaar (nl)
• Esperanto: severa (eo)
• Estonian: ränk, kõva
• Finnish: rankka (fi), kova (fi), ankara (fi)
• French: dur (fr)
• German: schwierig (de), schwer (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: χαλεπός (khalepós), ἐργώδης (ergṓdēs)

• Hindi: कठिन (hi) (kaṭhin), कठोर (hi) (kaṭhor)
• Interlingua: dur, difficile
• Irish: doiligh
• Italian: arduo (it)
• Khmer: យ៉ាប់ (km) (yap)
• Limburgish: helle (li)
• Lombard: dur (lmo) m
• Macedonian: тежок m (težok), напорен m (naporen)
• Maore Comorian: -dziro
• Ngazidja Comorian: -dziro
• Pashto: ګران (grân)
• Plautdietsch: schwoa
• Polish: ciężki (pl) m
• Portuguese: duro (pt), difícil (pt), árduo (pt) m, rigoroso (pt) m
• Romanian: greu (ro)
• Russian: тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj), тру́дный (ru) (trúdnyj)
• Swahili: -gumu (sw)
• Swedish: hård (sv), svår (sv)
• Telugu: కఠిన (te) (kaṭhina), కఠోర (kaṭhōra)
• Thai: ยาก (th) (yâak), ลำบาก (th) (lam-bàak)
• Ukrainian: важки́й (uk) (važkýj)
• Vietnamese: khó khăn (vi), khốn khó (vi)
• Welsh: caled (cy)

severe

• Bulgarian: тежък (bg) (težǎk), усилен (bg) (usilen)
• Catalan: dur (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: hard (nl)
• Esperanto: severa (eo)
• Finnish: ankara (fi)
• French: dur (fr)
• German: hart (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: χαλεπός (khalepós)

• Hindi: सख़्त (saxt), सख्त (hi) (sakht)
• Interlingua: sever
• Italian: difficile (it), severo (it)
• Lithuanian: griežtas, rūstus
• Lombard: dur (lmo) m
• Macedonian: тежок m (težok)
• Pashto: زيږ (ps) (ziģ), سخت (ps) (saxt)
• Polish: surowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: difícil (pt), severo (pt)
• Romanian: vârtos (ro), sever (ro) m, dur (ro) m or n
• Russian: тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj), тру́дный (ru) (trúdnyj) (slang)
• Scottish Gaelic: cruaidh, borb, garg
• Spanish: duro (es), difícil (es)
• Swahili: -gumu (sw)
• Swedish: hård (sv), sträng (sv)
• Tagalog: malala, matindi, malupit (slang)
• Ukrainian: важки́й (uk) (važkýj)
• Vietnamese: khó tính (vi), khó (vi), khó khăn (vi)

unquestionable

• Arabic: لَا يُدْحَضُ (lā yudḥaḍu)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: hard (nl), onweerlegbaar (nl)
• Esperanto: nerefutebla
• Finnish: vahva (fi)
• French: irréfutable (fr)
• German: fix (de)
• Interlingua: inquestionabile
• Italian: indiscutibile (it)
• Polish: niepodważalny (pl) m
• Portuguese: inquestionável (pt)
• Russian: неопровержимый (ru) (neoproveržimyj)
• Spanish: incuestionable (es)
• Swedish: obestridlig (sv)

of drink: strong

• Bulgarian: силен (bg) (silen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: tvrdý (cs) m
• Dutch: straf (nl), sterk (nl)
• Esperanto: forta
• Finnish: vahva (fi), tiukka (fi), väkevä (fi), tuju (fi)
• French: fort (fr)
• Georgian: ძლიერი (ʒlieri)
• German: stark (de)
• Interlingua: forte
• Italiano: forte (it)
• Japanese: 濃い (ja)
• Latvian: stiprs (lv) m
• Macedonian: жесток m (žestok)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: виян (vijan)

• Persian: قوی (fa) (qavi)
• Polish: mocny (pl) m
• Portuguese: forte (pt)
• Romanian: tare (ro)
• Russian: кре́пкий (ru) (krépkij)
• Spanish: fuerte (es)
• Swedish: stark (sv)
• Tagalog: matapang
• Thai: แรง (th) (rɛɛng)
• Ukrainian: міцни́й (micnýj)
• Vietnamese: mạnh (vi)

of water, high in dissolved calcium compounds

• Armenian: անտանելի (hy) (antaneli)
• Bulgarian: твърд (bg) (tvǎrd)
• Catalan: dura (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: tvrdý (cs) m
• Dutch: hard (nl), kalkrijk (nl)
• Estonian: kõva
• Finnish: kova (fi)
• French: dure (fr) f
• German: hart (de)
• Hindi: कठिन (hi) (kaṭhin)
• Italian: dura (it) f
• Latvian: ciets (lv)
• Macedonian: тврд (tvrd)
• Polish: twarda f
• Portuguese: duro (pt)
• Romanian: dur (ro)
• Russian: жёсткий (ru) (žóstkij)
• Spanish: duro (es)
• Telugu: కఠిన (te) (kaṭhina)
• Thai: กระด้าง (th) (grà-dâang)
• Turkish: sert (tr)
• Ukrainian: жорстки́й (žorstkýj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Guaraní: ^{(please verify)} atã (gn) (h-) (1), ^{(please verify)} asy (h-) (2)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} keras (id), ^{(please verify)} kaku (id), ^{(please verify)} tegar (id) (1), ^{(please verify)} sulit (id), ^{(please verify)} sukar (id), ^{(please verify)} rumit (id), ^{(please verify)} susah (id) (2)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} tare (ro) (1,6), ^{(please verify)} greu (ro), ^{(please verify)} dificil (ro) (2,3,4), ^{(please verify)} sever (ro) (4), ^{(please verify)} neindoielnic (5)
• Tupinambá: ^{(please verify)} atã (s-) (1), ^{(please verify)} abaíb (2)
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} caled (cy) (1,2)

Adverb

hard (comparative harder, superlative hardest)

1. (manner) With much force or effort.

   He hit the puck hard up the ice.

   They worked hard all week.

   The recession hit them especially hard.

   Think hard about your choices.

   The couple were fucking each other hard.

   • 1595, Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “[Amoretti.] Sonnet VI”, in Amoretti and Epithalamion. […], London: […] [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature A4, verso:

     Be nought diſmayd that her vnmoued mind, / doth ſtill perſiſt in her rebellious pride: / ſuch loue not lyke to luſts of baſer kynd, / the harder vvonne, the firmer vvill abide.

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     […] My father / Is hard at study. Pray now, rest yourself; […]

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Wife of Bath's Tale”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     prayed so hard for mercy from the prince

   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 164:

     I played hard, I drank hard, I rode hard, and did everything much on the same pattern.

   • 1985, Michael A. Arbib, In search of the person: philosophical explorations in cognitive science, page 119:

     What, then, of the voluntarist's sense that one often has to think long and hard before making agonizing choices?

2. (manner) With difficulty.

   His degree was hard earned.

3. (obsolete) So as to raise difficulties.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     The question is hard set.

4. (manner) Compactly.

   The lake had finally frozen hard.

5. (now archaic) Near, close.

   At the intersection, bear hard left.

   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:

     The King your brother is now hard at hand, / Meete with the foole, and rid your royall ſhoulders / Of ſuch a burden, as outweighs the ſands / And all the craggie rockes of Caſpea.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 18:7:

     […] whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

   • 1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam, published 2011, page 418:

     It was another long day's march before they glimpsed the towers of Harrenhal in the distance, hard beside the blue waters of the lake.

Derived terms

• blowhard
• cry harder
• die hard
• go hard on
• go hard with
• hard aport
• hard astarboard
• hard at it
• hard-baked
• hard-bitten
• hard-bound
• hard by
• hard-coded
• hard-contested
• hard done by
• hard-drawn
• hard drinker
• hard-drinking
• hard-driven
• hard-earned
• hard-fought
• hard-gained
• hard-got, hard-gotten
• hard-hit
• hard-hitting
• hard on, hard upon
• hard on one's heels, hard on the heels
• hardover
• hard-pressed
• hard-pushed
• hard-wearing
• hard-wired
• hard-won
• hard-working
• ride hard
• ride hard and put away wet
• ride someone hard and put them away wet
• run hard

 

Translations

with much force or effort (related to act of think)

• Bulgarian: трудно (bg) (trudno)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 努力 (zh) (nǔlì), 認真／认真 (zh) (rènzhēn)

• Esperanto: vigle
• Finnish: kovasti (fi), kovaa (fi), tiukasti (fi), lujaa (fi), lujasti (fi), ankarasti (fi), rajusti (fi)
• French: dur (fr), durement (fr)
• Italian: sodo (it)
• Japanese: 熱心に (ja) (ねっしんに, nesshin ni)
• Portuguese: bem (pt)
• Russian: си́льно (ru) (sílʹno)
• Turkish: sıkı (tr), sert (tr)

Noun

hard (countable and uncountable, plural hards)

1. (countable, nautical) A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.
   • 1952, Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu Baron Montagu, Beaulieu, the Abbey, Palace House, and Buckler's Hard, page 36:

     The Monastery's ironworks at Sowley were renowned for centuries but declined with the passing of the 'wooden walls' at Buckler's Hard — a great number of these ships having been built with timber from the Beaulieu Woods […]

2. (countable, motor racing) A tyre whose compound is softer than superhards, and harder than mediums.
3. (uncountable, drugs, slang) Crack cocaine.
4. (uncountable, slang) Hard labor.

   The prisoners were sentenced to three years' hard.

Etymology 2

From Middle English harden, herden, from Old English heardian (“to become hard”) and hierdan (“to make hard”), from Proto-West Germanic *hardēn and *hardijan, from Proto-Germanic *hardijaną.

Verb

hard (third-person singular simple present hards, present participle harding, simple past and past participle harded)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To make hard, harden.
   • 1641, original 1618, Guillaume de Saluste Du Bartas, Josuah Sylvester, Du Bartas His Diuine Weekes and Workes:

     He knows vain men: he sees their harts that hard them In Guiles and Wiles, and will not hee regard them?

Anagrams

• Dhar

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦɑrt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hard
• Rhymes: -ɑrt
• Homophone: hart

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch hart, from Old Dutch hart, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Adjective

hard (comparative harder, superlative hardst)

1. hard, strong

   Antonym: zacht

2. (economics, of a currency) strong, not easily devalued
3. unquestionable, uncontestable

   harde feiten

   hard facts

4. heartless, unsympathetic (of a person)

   Antonym: zacht

5. hard, difficult

   een harde strijd

   a difficult fight

6. harsh, heavy

   harde straffen

   harsh punishments

   een harde regen

   heavy rain

7. hard, rich in calcium (of water)

   Antonym: zacht

8. loud (of sound)

   Synonym: luid

   Antonym: zacht

9. fast

   Synonym: snel

   Antonyms: langzaam, traag

   hard fietsen

   cycle fast

   hard rijden

   drive fast

   hard werken

   work hard

   hard lopen

   walk fast

Declension

Declension of hard
uninflected	hard
inflected	harde
comparative	harder
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		hard	harder	het hardst het hardste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	harde	hardere	hardste
	n. sing.	hard	harder	hardste
	plural	harde	hardere	hardste
definite		harde	hardere	hardste
partitive		hards	harders	—

Derived terms

• keihard
• harden
• hardheid
• hardlopen
• hardroeien
• hardrijden

Descendants

• Jersey Dutch: hārd
• Negerhollands: hart
• Skepi Creole Dutch: hardt

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb

hard

1. (speed) fast, swiftly

   Ik heb een bekeuring gekregen omdat ik te hard heb gereden.

   I got a ticket because I drove too fast.

2. very
3. loudly

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

hard

1. inflection of harden:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English hard.

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /aʁd/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

hard (plural hards)

1. (of pornography) hardcore

   Des photos hards.

   Hardcore pictures.

Noun

hard m (plural hards)

1. hardcore pornography

   Le Journal du hard est une émission de Canal + dédiée au cinéma pornographique.

   Le Journal du hard ("Hard Porn News") is a broadcast by Canal+ dedicated to pornographic films.

2. hard rock

   Elle adore le hard et le headbang.

   She just loves hard rock and headbanging.

   • 2004, Thomas Mansier, Identité du rock et presse spécialisée. Évolution d'une culture et de son discours critique dans les magazines français des années 90, page 98:

     Le hard semble ainsi capable de remplir le contrat originel du rock.

     As such, hard rock seems capable of fulfilling the original purpose of rock.

   • 2014, Christian Eudeline, "Uriah Heep. Look At Yourself", in Du hard rock au métal. Les 100 albums cultes, Gründ (publ.).

     Au croisement du hard et du prog, Uriah Heep […] enregistre là son meilleur disque, pourtant, leurs paroles pseudo-lyriques et leurs envolées déplaisaient.

     At the crossroads of hard rock and prog rock, Uriah Heep […] records its best disc there; however, their pseudo-lyrical texts and their take-offs were disliked.

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [haːɾˠd̪ˠ]

Adjective

hard

1. h-prothesized form of ard

Middle English

Alternative forms

• harde

Etymology

From Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hard/

Adjective

hard

1. hard

Descendants

• English: hard
• Yola: hard

References

• “hard, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse harðr, from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɑːɾ/, /hɑːɽ/
• Homophone: har

Adjective

hard (neuter singular hardt, definite singular and plural harde, comparative hardere, indefinite superlative hardest, definite superlative hardeste)

1. hard (not soft)
2. hard, stern, severe
3. hardy

Derived terms

• beinhard
• hardhet
• hardkokt
• hardtslående

Related terms

• forherde
• herde

References

• “hard” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse harðr, from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɑːr/, /hɑːɽ/
• Homophone: har

Adjective

hard (neuter hardt, definite singular and plural harde, comparative hardare, indefinite superlative hardast, definite superlative hardaste)

1. hard
2. hard, stern, severe
3. hardy

Derived terms

• beinhard
• hardkokt
• knallhard

References

• “hard” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī).

Adjective

hard (comparative hardiro, superlative hardist)

1. hard

Declension

Positive forms of hard

Strong declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	hard	harde, harda	hard	harda	hard	hard, harda
accusative	hardan, harden	harda, harde	harda	harda	hard	hard, harda
genitive	hardes, hardas	hardaro, hardoro, hardero	hardara, hardaro	hardaro, hardoro, hardero	hardes, hardas	hardaro, hardoro, hardero
dative	hardumu, hardum, hardun, hardun, hardon, harden, hardan	hardun, hardon, hardum	hardaro, hardaru, hardara	hardun, hardon	hardumu, hardum, hardun, hardun, hardon, harden, hardan	hardun, hardon, hardum
Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	hardo, harda	hardon, hardun	harda, harde	hardon, hardun, hardan	harda, harde	hardon, hardun
accusative	hardon, hardan	hardon, hardun	hardun, hardon, hardan	hardon, hardun, hardan	harda, harde	hardon, hardun
genitive	harden, hardan	hardono, hardeno	hardun, hardan, harden	hardono	harden, hardan	hardono, hardeno
dative	hardon, harden, hardan	hardon, hardun	hardun, hardan	hardon, hardun	hardon, harden, hardan	hardon, hardun

Comparative forms of hard (weak only)

Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	hardiro, hardira	hardiron, hardirun	hardira, hardire	hardiron, hardirun, hardiran	hardira, hardire	hardiron, hardirun
accusative	hardiron, hardiran	hardiron, hardirun	hardirun, hardiron, hardiran	hardiron, hardirun, hardiran	hardira, hardire	hardiron, hardirun
genitive	hardiren, hardiran	hardirono, hardireno	hardirun, hardiran, hardiren	hardirono	hardiren, hardiran	hardirono, hardireno
dative	hardiron, hardiren, hardiran	hardiron, hardirun	hardirun, hardiran	hardiron, hardirun	hardiron, hardiren, hardiran	hardiron, hardirun

Superlative forms of hard

Strong declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	hardist	hardiste, hardista	hardist	hardista	hardist	hardist, hardista
accusative	hardistan, hardisten	hardista, hardiste	hardista	hardista	hardist	hardist, hardista
genitive	hardistes, hardistas	hardistaro, hardistoro, hardistero	hardistara, hardistaro	hardistaro, hardistoro, hardistero	hardistes, hardistas	hardistaro, hardistoro, hardistero
dative	hardistumu, hardistum, hardistun, hardistun, hardiston, hardisten, hardistan	hardistun, hardiston, hardistum	hardistaro, hardistaru, hardistara	hardistun, hardiston	hardistumu, hardistum, hardistun, hardistun, hardiston, hardisten, hardistan	hardistun, hardiston, hardistum
Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	hardisto, hardista	hardiston, hardistun	hardista, hardiste	hardiston, hardistun, hardistan	hardista, hardiste	hardiston, hardistun
accusative	hardiston, hardistan	hardiston, hardistun	hardistun, hardiston, hardistan	hardiston, hardistun, hardistan	hardista, hardiste	hardiston, hardistun
genitive	hardisten, hardistan	hardistono, hardisteno	hardistun, hardistan, hardisten	hardistono	hardisten, hardistan	hardistono, hardisteno
dative	hardiston, hardisten, hardistan	hardiston, hardistun	hardistun, hardistan	hardiston, hardistun	hardiston, hardisten, hardistan	hardiston, hardistun

Derived terms

• hardī

Descendants

• Middle Low German: hart, hārde
  • Low German: hard, hart

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English hard.

Adjective

hard (invariable)

1. hard, heavy, hardcore

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɔːd/

Adjective

hard

1. hard
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 11, page 88:

     W' vengem too hard, he zunk ee commane,

     With venom too hard, he sunk his bat-club,

Derived terms

• halpish

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 88