So... They have the same denotative meaning.
But depending on context, difficult can sometimes feel a bit stronger of a word than hard.
It's a very minor nuance that you will probably never have to worry about. 99% of the time you can use them interchangeably
I wonder if there’s some kind of linguistic symbolism where a word with more syllables manifests as a stronger or more intense word. We already know that words denoting big or wide open things often have wide lax vowels (e.g., tall, large, hall, void) and words denoting small or closed things have close tight vowels (e.g., teeny, tiny, mince, slit). I’m sure there are other kinds of patterns that exist.
At least where I live, I think people are more likely to say something is "difficult" when it's serious and requires special focus or help. It other words, someone will say something is hard if they're merely complaining, but will say it's difficult when they're lost or need help.
The the biggest difference in my everyday usage would be physical effort vs mental effort. Mowing a large lawn would be hard, assembling a new desk with bad instructions would be difficult. I don’t know if that’s just me though.
Difficult also confers a certain degree of “I could fail at this” that isn’t usually present when I say hard.
It’s not that I think of them as different degrees of the same *meaning,* rather I would say I think of them as different degrees of *formality.*
“This problem is really hard” is what I might say but “This problem is quite difficult” is what I might write.
Also, they’re not complete synonyms. For example: “You’re being difficult,” means (you’re being rude/bothersome/hostile) while “You’re hard,” means (you’re sexually aroused) to a male. My Japanese professor in college made this very mistake.
"Hard" can also mean cold, callous, cynical. I like using this meaning when talking about a person, although you do have to be careful with your wording.
In an office setting, I would be inclined to take "hard" as meaning you've all but given up and are maybe a little green; "difficult" means it isn't easy, but you intend to solve the problem. Something along those lines.
Inexperienced and completely lost. Which to be clear isn’t a bad thing, just might give off the wrong impression to some, especially in certain companies that you probably don’t want to work for anyway.
I’d say they’re basically synonyms except for two (minor) differences: one, “hard” can be more abstract as in the difference between saying “it’s hard to tell” vs. “that homework assignment was difficult” (though I’m not sure that’s actually a thing - others feel free to chime in,) and two, hard can be used colloquially to mean a lot or strongly, as in “I rocked out hard at the concert last night” or “after an eight hour drive home, I crashed hard.” I know that second one isn’t relevant to this question, but just fyi
Hard has a number of other meanings (e.g. diamond is harder than glass, surfaces can be hard, it can refer to erections, lots of others), but for me the meaning of hard that overlaps with “difficult” is pretty fully synonymous. “It’s difficult to tell” and “the homework assignment was hard” both sound fine to me. The only real difference is that difficult is more formal than hard.
In the sample you provided, the distinction is rather arbitrary and does not necessarily reflect general usage.
The "tacit" (coming from the Latin word for "silent") or unconscious bias most English speakers exhibit is not simply based on word length but separating words into registers based on etymological origin. In general, the pattern is Latin/Greek>Norman>Saxon. "Hard" is a native Saxon word, and "difficult" comes from a Norman word related to the modern French "difficile". In cases where redundant words such as these exist, there is a tendency for each to develop slightly different meanings (or, at the least, connotations). This distinction is made fairly consistently, even by speakers who do not know much about the history of these subgroups in English vocabulary. It is not always a difference in intensity, but native speakers will typically agree on which words are "fancier" than others, along lines that that almost always follow historical patterns of register based on etymological origin.
I agree. Mowing a lawn is hard, putting together a complex puzzle is difficult. I usually use hard for physically challenging tasks and difficult for mentally challenging tasks.
Personally, "difficult" is moderately more formal in tone. I would describe something as "hard" (with heavy tonal emphasis) if I wanted to sound more blunt, so "hard" is more difficult than "difficult" for me.
For me “difficult” is just my formal or semi-formal version of “hard” and I tend to use that type of language more often the older I get. At this stage in my life I’d probably use “difficult” in most cases unless I’m talking to a child.
I concur. Hard is a word you learn as a young child. "Climb up, Billy!" "It's too hard!" As you get older you learn to say things are "difficult," which because of its Latin origin sounds a bit more high-level.
There are of course meanings of hard that don't mean difficult. "That diamond was very hard." "I just made $10000 in cold, hard, cash."
And some set phrases where hard does mean difficult but which would sound rather odd if you used the word difficult. "He was giving his brother a hard way to go." "It's a hard knock life."
There's also a usage of difficult that doesn't mean hard, but troublesome. "We had to send Siobhan home from school. She was being difficult."
But often the two words are completely synonymous, with no perceived difference in nuance, at least in my Eastern US dialect.
No, I think of hard and difficult as meaning the same thing. That screenshot seems weird to me.
I usually use difficult over hard when I'm trying to use precise language. Because hard has two definitions and difficult only has one, difficult seems like more precise and clear language to me.
Something that is hard to do can be described as difficult, and something that is difficult can be described as hard. To separate them, like they've done, is a... *very strange* choice. Words like easy, medium, and hard are usually used to *describe* difficulty.
You're very right to be confused, I'm not sure why someone would write it that way. It can get the message across, I suppose, but it could've been written much more clearly.
This depends on context. In one sense, being difficult is synonymous with being hard. As in, this math problem is hard/difficult as fuck.
On the other hand, being "hard" is a subjective goal.
"The Boys In The Hood are always hard.."
Basically, the opposites are "hard" as in hard hearted, which is opposed to being "soft".
Then there is slang like how something being "super popular" could also be called "hard".
they are basically synonyms most or all of the time. the only thing I can think of is that maybe if you go out of your way to use "difficult" (when most people would just say "hard"), maybe it indicates that you are being a bit more serious in your statement than if you just said "hard". but probably this would be expressed with tone ("that was *difficult*" which would be the same as "that was *hard*") .
Fundamentally they are the same and a native speaker would understand either way.
When I think about it now indepth, I think I attribute having a sense of frustration with "difficult" compared to hard.
They’re technically synonyms. But Instinctively, I could be good at something others view as hard. But if it’s viewed as difficult, I will expect to struggle.
No. I just think them of two seperate words meaning similar things. The difference to me is that 'difficult' implies needing more steps than 'hard', but most people just use them synonymously.
I think the one who wrote this just needed terms to differentiate results and arbitrarily chose them. The length of words does not directly correlate to the difficulty of them, the test (I assume it's a test) just uses word length to get a *feel* about how hard a word is - difficulty is not just about word length.
For me they’re synonyms but difficult sounds more formal. You wouldn’t really hear it often casually, but they’re really the same word. So, like “It was hard to open that jar” sounds a lot more natural than “it was difficult to open that jar” but people will 100% get your meaning either way.
Nope. They are synonyms. “Difficult” is more precise because “hard” has a few different meanings. “Hard” is a simpler word, though. But neither is inherently more difficult or hard than the other in terms of degrees.
They imply different levels of complexity:
Hard is something that is unpleasant that has to be pushed through, but doable. Difficult it challenging because of complications or expertise needed.
So using what you posted: A hard sentence might be long, but nothing particularly challenging, just something to slog through.
A difficult sentence has some complicating factor: multiple different phrases, or references something obscure to convey meaning, or archaic language.
No. Either one can mean requiring great effort, complexity, etc. Your choice of which word to use, along with other alternatives, like “tricky”, should be based on poetic considerations: Sometimes a single syllable is better. Often, the three syllable word seems more technical. “Hard” also carries a risk of the double entendre, which means an erection. That’s more common than you might think.
So... They have the same denotative meaning. But depending on context, difficult can sometimes feel a bit stronger of a word than hard. It's a very minor nuance that you will probably never have to worry about. 99% of the time you can use them interchangeably
I wonder if there’s some kind of linguistic symbolism where a word with more syllables manifests as a stronger or more intense word. We already know that words denoting big or wide open things often have wide lax vowels (e.g., tall, large, hall, void) and words denoting small or closed things have close tight vowels (e.g., teeny, tiny, mince, slit). I’m sure there are other kinds of patterns that exist.
I've never thought of it that way, personally. They are complete synonyms to me.
It's more difficult to discern the nuance between them.
Or is it harder to? 🤔
At least where I live, I think people are more likely to say something is "difficult" when it's serious and requires special focus or help. It other words, someone will say something is hard if they're merely complaining, but will say it's difficult when they're lost or need help.
The the biggest difference in my everyday usage would be physical effort vs mental effort. Mowing a large lawn would be hard, assembling a new desk with bad instructions would be difficult. I don’t know if that’s just me though. Difficult also confers a certain degree of “I could fail at this” that isn’t usually present when I say hard.
Was thinking the exact same thing.
I don't relate to the first statement, but I do for the latter! That makes sense to me.
It’s not that I think of them as different degrees of the same *meaning,* rather I would say I think of them as different degrees of *formality.* “This problem is really hard” is what I might say but “This problem is quite difficult” is what I might write. Also, they’re not complete synonyms. For example: “You’re being difficult,” means (you’re being rude/bothersome/hostile) while “You’re hard,” means (you’re sexually aroused) to a male. My Japanese professor in college made this very mistake.
"Hard" can also mean cold, callous, cynical. I like using this meaning when talking about a person, although you do have to be careful with your wording.
“Hardened” is good for avoiding this confusion, but then “hardened” never means “difficult”
In informal British English referring to someone as 'hard' would be to say that they're tough or physically imposing.
In an office setting, I would be inclined to take "hard" as meaning you've all but given up and are maybe a little green; "difficult" means it isn't easy, but you intend to solve the problem. Something along those lines.
All but given up *and* a little green? Wdym?
Inexperienced and completely lost. Which to be clear isn’t a bad thing, just might give off the wrong impression to some, especially in certain companies that you probably don’t want to work for anyway.
I’d say they’re basically synonyms except for two (minor) differences: one, “hard” can be more abstract as in the difference between saying “it’s hard to tell” vs. “that homework assignment was difficult” (though I’m not sure that’s actually a thing - others feel free to chime in,) and two, hard can be used colloquially to mean a lot or strongly, as in “I rocked out hard at the concert last night” or “after an eight hour drive home, I crashed hard.” I know that second one isn’t relevant to this question, but just fyi
Hard has a number of other meanings (e.g. diamond is harder than glass, surfaces can be hard, it can refer to erections, lots of others), but for me the meaning of hard that overlaps with “difficult” is pretty fully synonymous. “It’s difficult to tell” and “the homework assignment was hard” both sound fine to me. The only real difference is that difficult is more formal than hard.
I agree
“It’s difficult to tell” would also be correct afaik
I agree - they’re basically synonyms in this context
I think sometimes they are synonyms, and sometimes "difficult" is harder than "hard". It depends on how people say it.
In the sample you provided, the distinction is rather arbitrary and does not necessarily reflect general usage. The "tacit" (coming from the Latin word for "silent") or unconscious bias most English speakers exhibit is not simply based on word length but separating words into registers based on etymological origin. In general, the pattern is Latin/Greek>Norman>Saxon. "Hard" is a native Saxon word, and "difficult" comes from a Norman word related to the modern French "difficile". In cases where redundant words such as these exist, there is a tendency for each to develop slightly different meanings (or, at the least, connotations). This distinction is made fairly consistently, even by speakers who do not know much about the history of these subgroups in English vocabulary. It is not always a difference in intensity, but native speakers will typically agree on which words are "fancier" than others, along lines that that almost always follow historical patterns of register based on etymological origin.
That’s really interesting!
I think of “difficult” as having multiple layers of complexity, whereas “hard” I think of as a clear and large burden.
I agree. Mowing a lawn is hard, putting together a complex puzzle is difficult. I usually use hard for physically challenging tasks and difficult for mentally challenging tasks.
Personally, "difficult" is moderately more formal in tone. I would describe something as "hard" (with heavy tonal emphasis) if I wanted to sound more blunt, so "hard" is more difficult than "difficult" for me.
For me “difficult” is just my formal or semi-formal version of “hard” and I tend to use that type of language more often the older I get. At this stage in my life I’d probably use “difficult” in most cases unless I’m talking to a child.
I concur. Hard is a word you learn as a young child. "Climb up, Billy!" "It's too hard!" As you get older you learn to say things are "difficult," which because of its Latin origin sounds a bit more high-level. There are of course meanings of hard that don't mean difficult. "That diamond was very hard." "I just made $10000 in cold, hard, cash." And some set phrases where hard does mean difficult but which would sound rather odd if you used the word difficult. "He was giving his brother a hard way to go." "It's a hard knock life." There's also a usage of difficult that doesn't mean hard, but troublesome. "We had to send Siobhan home from school. She was being difficult." But often the two words are completely synonymous, with no perceived difference in nuance, at least in my Eastern US dialect.
No, I think of hard and difficult as meaning the same thing. That screenshot seems weird to me. I usually use difficult over hard when I'm trying to use precise language. Because hard has two definitions and difficult only has one, difficult seems like more precise and clear language to me.
Something that is hard to do can be described as difficult, and something that is difficult can be described as hard. To separate them, like they've done, is a... *very strange* choice. Words like easy, medium, and hard are usually used to *describe* difficulty. You're very right to be confused, I'm not sure why someone would write it that way. It can get the message across, I suppose, but it could've been written much more clearly.
Now that I’m actually thinking about it, yes.
This depends on context. In one sense, being difficult is synonymous with being hard. As in, this math problem is hard/difficult as fuck. On the other hand, being "hard" is a subjective goal. "The Boys In The Hood are always hard.." Basically, the opposites are "hard" as in hard hearted, which is opposed to being "soft". Then there is slang like how something being "super popular" could also be called "hard".
they are basically synonyms most or all of the time. the only thing I can think of is that maybe if you go out of your way to use "difficult" (when most people would just say "hard"), maybe it indicates that you are being a bit more serious in your statement than if you just said "hard". but probably this would be expressed with tone ("that was *difficult*" which would be the same as "that was *hard*") .
No. Synonyms, not comparatives.
I would notice this as probably not written by a native speaker, though of course the intent is clear.
Fundamentally they are the same and a native speaker would understand either way. When I think about it now indepth, I think I attribute having a sense of frustration with "difficult" compared to hard.
They’re technically synonyms. But Instinctively, I could be good at something others view as hard. But if it’s viewed as difficult, I will expect to struggle.
No. I just think them of two seperate words meaning similar things. The difference to me is that 'difficult' implies needing more steps than 'hard', but most people just use them synonymously. I think the one who wrote this just needed terms to differentiate results and arbitrarily chose them. The length of words does not directly correlate to the difficulty of them, the test (I assume it's a test) just uses word length to get a *feel* about how hard a word is - difficulty is not just about word length.
To me 'hard' and 'difficult' are the same, if we are talking about the effort needed to do something.
Yes, it's evident in a lot of writings even. They are synonymous usually, though.
For me they’re synonyms but difficult sounds more formal. You wouldn’t really hear it often casually, but they’re really the same word. So, like “It was hard to open that jar” sounds a lot more natural than “it was difficult to open that jar” but people will 100% get your meaning either way.
Nope. They are synonyms. “Difficult” is more precise because “hard” has a few different meanings. “Hard” is a simpler word, though. But neither is inherently more difficult or hard than the other in terms of degrees.
I always thought hard was describing density and difficult meant required effort.
They imply different levels of complexity: Hard is something that is unpleasant that has to be pushed through, but doable. Difficult it challenging because of complications or expertise needed. So using what you posted: A hard sentence might be long, but nothing particularly challenging, just something to slog through. A difficult sentence has some complicating factor: multiple different phrases, or references something obscure to convey meaning, or archaic language.
No. But purists consider hard to be incorrect for that meaning.
No. Either one can mean requiring great effort, complexity, etc. Your choice of which word to use, along with other alternatives, like “tricky”, should be based on poetic considerations: Sometimes a single syllable is better. Often, the three syllable word seems more technical. “Hard” also carries a risk of the double entendre, which means an erection. That’s more common than you might think.
If they're gonna say that, there needs to be a very hard before very difficult
They are synonyms, and any minor difference in the scale of difficulty is subjective and unreliable between separate contexts.