Essential French Expression
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| Meaning | barely, hardly | |
| Literally | to pain / effort | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ah pehn] |
| IPA | [a pɛn] | |
Usage notes: À peine is a very common French expression, equivalent to the English adverbs "barely, hardly."
The literal translation can seem odd, but there is a certain logic to it. Peine has two meanings, both of which lend themselves to the idea of doing something with difficulty. Peine meaning "pain" hints at a reluctance to do more than is absolutely necessary, since it’s painful, while the other meaning of peine highlights the effort required for the task.
Par exemple…
| J’avais à peine terminé quand il est arrivé. | I’d barely finished when he arrived. | |
| Ce chiot a à peine deux mois. | This puppy is barely two months old. | |
| À peine savons-nous ce qui s’est passé. | We barely know what happened. |
Somewhat synonymous: ne … guère
À peine can also be used informally, as an interjection to express disbelief.
| – Je l’ai fait moi-même. | – I did it myself. | |
| – À peine ! | – Yeah, right! |
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