滅めっ多たに

め

っ

た

に

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

adverb

rarely; seldom

Always used with a negative verb; means 'almost never' or 'hardly ever'.

ほとんど
ほとんど means 'almost' or 'mostly' and can be used in positive or negative contexts. 滅多に is only used with negatives and emphasizes rarity.
あまり
あまり with a negative means 'not very much/often', but 滅多に is stronger, meaning 'hardly ever'.

The kanji 滅多 are ateji (phonetic) and do not contribute meaning. The word is of native Japanese origin, but the exact derivation is uncertain.