hard to see

USAGE SUMMARY

'hard to see' is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when you need to describe something that is difficult or nearly impossible to discern or detect. For example: "The path ahead is hard to see in the thick fog."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Hard to see that.

The New Yorker

Hard to see.

Independent

It's not hard to see.

The New York Times

It's hard to see how.

The New York Times

It's hard to see.

Yale University

Hard to see why.

The Washington Post

The downside isn't hard to see.

The New York Times - Arts

It was hard to see England lose.

The New Yorker

"It's hard to see past that.

The New York Times

But it's hard to see how.

The New York Times

It is not hard to see why.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Pair the phrase with specific environmental modifiers like 'in the darkness' or 'through the fog' for literal descriptions to increase vividness.

Common error

Do not use 'hardly to see' when you mean something is difficult. 'Hardly' is an adverb meaning 'scarcely'. While you can say 'I could hardly see', you cannot use 'hardly' as an adjective in the structure 'it is hardly to see'. Always use the adjective 'hard' to describe the difficulty of the perception.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "hard to see" functions as an adjective phrase where 'hard' modifies the following to-infinitive verb. As noted by Ludwig AI, it is often used as a subject complement in extraposition sentences beginning with a dummy 'it' (e.g., "It is "hard to see"...").

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

85%

Academia

8%

Formal & Business

7%

Less common in

Science

5%

Wiki

3%

Social Media

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "hard to see" is a robust and versatile tool in English writing. Ludwig AI confirms its status as a correct and highly usable phrase across diverse fields. Its utility ranges from literal physical descriptions (obscurity due to darkness or weather) to metaphorical evaluations of logic and probability. Because it is found frequently in elite publications like The New York Times and The Guardian, it is a safe choice for any writer looking to express a lack of clarity or to signal doubt. When using it, remember that it is most effective when followed by a clarifying 'how', 'why', or 'where' to specify the nature of the difficulty.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

difficult to discern

More formal and emphasizes the mental effort of recognizing something subtle

tough to see

Slightly more informal and often carries an emotional weight

not easily visible

A more literal and clinical description of physical obstruction

difficult to perceive

Focuses on sensory detection, common in scientific or psychological contexts

hard to distinguish

Used when it is difficult to tell one thing apart from another

hard to visualize

Refers specifically to forming a mental image rather than physical sight

barely noticeable

Suggests the object is visible but requires extreme focus to detect

obscured from view

Indicates a specific physical barrier is blocking sight

challenging to identify

Focuses on the difficulty of classification or recognition

hard to fathom

Used when the difficulty lies in understanding the depth or complexity of a concept

FAQs

How to use "hard to see" in a sentence?

You can use it literally to describe physical visibility, such as "The signs were "hard to see" in the rain", or metaphorically to describe a lack of clarity, as in "It is "hard to see" the logic behind his decision".

What can I say instead of "hard to see"?

Depending on the context, you can use alternatives like "difficult to discern", "tough to see", or "barely visible".

Is it "hard to see" or "difficult to see"?

Both are grammatically correct and interchangeable. "difficult to see" is slightly more formal, while "hard to see" is common in both neutral and informal speech.

What is the difference between "hard to see" and "hard to watch"?

"hard to see" usually refers to a lack of visibility or clarity, whereas "hard to watch" typically describes something that is emotionally painful, cringeworthy, or disturbing to observe.