Rarely, seldom, hardly和scarcely,这几个词一定让你很头晕吧?今天我们就来看看,在朗文词典上对这几个词是如何辨析的!

Rarely and seldom both mean 'not often'. Seldom is more formal or literary.
Rarely和seldom意思都是“很少”(表频率),seldom更正式、更书面。

• People rarely ask questions.
人们很少问问题。

• She was seldom seen in public.
很少在公众场合看见她。

Hardly and scarcely both mean 'almost not' or 'only just'. For example, if you hardly had time to do something, you almost did not have time. Scarcely is more formal or literary.
Hardly和scarcely意思都是“几乎不”或者“刚刚”(表程度)。例如:you hardly had time to do something意味着你几乎没时间做某事。相比之下scarcely更正式、更书面。

• I hardly had time to ask her name.
我几乎没时间去问她叫什么名字。

• We had scarcely arrived when he asked us to leave.
我们才刚刚到他就叫我们走了。

Hardly and scarcely can also be used with 'ever' to mean 'not often, almost never', with 'any' to mean 'very few, almost none'.
Hardly和scarcely也可以与ever连用,表示“很少,几乎从不”;与any连用,表示“很少,几乎没有”。

• I've got hardly any money left.
我几乎没剩一点钱。

• Hardly anyone agreed with her.
几乎没人同意她。

In speech, it is usual to say that you hardly ever do something, rather than that you rarely do it.
在演讲时,通常都说hardly ever do something,而不说rarely do something。

• I hardly ever go to the cinema.
我几乎从不去电影院。