Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hard knock

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.32 in modern English

Syllables: hard -knock
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Experiencing a lot of difficulties, hardships, or tough situations in life.

Inflected Forms

hard knocker (comparative) hard knockest (superlative) hard knocks (plural)

Phrases

school of hard knocks

Questions

What does hard knock mean?: Experiencing a lot of difficulties, hardships, or tough situations in life.

How to pronounce hard knock

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hard knock”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “hard knock” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.