/ˈhɑ:dli ||; ˈhɑrdlɪ/adv1 almost no; almost not; almost none 几乎不；几乎没有: There's hardly any coffee left. 咖啡几乎没有剩了。We hardly ever go out nowadays. 我们如今很少出门。I hardly spoke any English when I first came here. 我初来这儿的时候几乎不会说英语。 ☞Look at almost. 参看almost。
2 used especially after ‘can’ and ‘could’ and before the main verb to emphasize that sth is difficult to do （尤用于can及could之后、主要动词之前，强调难度）: Speak up -- I can hardly hear you. 大声点─我听不见。
3 (used to say that sth has just begun, happened, etc) only just （表示刚刚开始、发生等）刚刚: She'd hardly gone to sleep thanit was time to get up again. 她刚睡着又该起床了。
If ‘hardly’ is at the beginning of a sentence, the verb follows immediately. This use is found in formal writing. Hardly had she gone to sleep than it was time to get up again. 在正式写作中，hardly如放在句首，后面就要紧接动词：Hardly had she gone to sleep than it was time to get up again. 她刚睡着又该起床了。 4 (used to suggest that sth is unlikely or unreasonable) not really （用于表示某事不大可能或不合理）事实上不会或不是: You can hardly expect me to believe that excuse! 你别指望我相信那种借口！ ☞Look at barely and scarcely. 参看barely及scarcely。