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Progressive French Expression
| Meaning | little by little, bit by bit, gradually | |
| Literally | little to little | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[peu ah peu] |
| IPA | [pø a pø] | |
Usage notes: The adverbial expression peu à peu describes an evolution without clearly distinguishable steps or phases.
Par exemple…
| Le soleil se couche, peu à peu. | The sun is setting, little by little. | |
| Peu à peu, la situation s’améliore. | The situation is getting better, bit by bit. | |
| L’eau monte peu à peu. | The water is gradually rising. |
Synonyms
- doucement
- graduellement
- insensiblement
- lentement
- par degrés
- par paliers
- pas à pas
- progressivement
Peu à peu vs Petit à petit
In contrast to peu à peu, the expression petit à petit is used when the process is made up of a series of distinct steps.
Related lesson
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