几乎
almost; nearly
jīhū
What does 几乎 mean?
几乎 (jīhū) is an adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly' — indicating that a state or action came very close to happening or being complete, but didn't quite reach it. It modifies verbs and adjectives: 几乎不可能 'almost impossible,' 几乎所有人 'almost everyone,' 几乎没有 'almost none.' Two patterns English speakers should master: first, 几乎 typically comes BEFORE the verb or adjective it modifies, not after — say 我几乎忘了 ('I almost forgot'), never 我忘了几乎.
Second, 几乎 + 没/不 ('almost not') is extremely common and often translates as 'hardly' or 'barely' in English: 几乎没人来 ('hardly anyone came'). 几乎 is neutral in register, works in speech and writing, and overlaps with 差不多 ('about / nearly') but with a subtle difference: 几乎 emphasizes how close you got; 差不多 emphasizes approximation.
Character breakdown
small table; (here) nearly
(classical particle)
Memory hook: Think of 几乎 as 'within a hair of' — almost there, but not quite.
Example sentences
我几乎每天都喝咖啡。
Wǒ jīhū měitiān dōu hē kāfēi.
I drink coffee almost every day.
spoken
他几乎没说话。
Tā jīhū méi shuōhuà.
He hardly said anything.
neutral
这两个杯子几乎一样。
Zhè liǎng ge bēizi jīhū yíyàng.
These two cups are almost identical.
neutral
我几乎忘了今天是她的生日。
Wǒ jīhū wàngle jīntiān shì tā de shēngrì.
I almost forgot today is her birthday.
spoken
Common phrases with 几乎
Synonyms
差不多 is more colloquial and means 'about / roughly / nearly the same.' It can stand alone as an answer (差不多了 'close enough'). 几乎 is more precise — emphasizes 'just barely not' the full thing. 差不多十点 (around 10) vs 几乎十点 (almost 10, but not quite).
Don't confuse 几乎 with
几 alone (third tone) means 'how many' (in small numbers) or 'several' (几个人 'several people / how many people'). 几乎 (first tone on 几) is the adverb 'almost.' Different tone, different meaning entirely.
差点 specifically means 'almost (something bad nearly happened).' 几乎 is more general. 我差点忘了 and 我几乎忘了 both mean 'I almost forgot,' but 差点 carries a stronger 'phew, that was close' feel.
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