Expressing "nearly" with "jihu"

几乎 (jīhū) means "nearly" or "almost," and is used to emphasize that someone or something almost meets a certain standard or is very close to doing something.

Used before the Subject

It is often used together with words that mean "all," such as 每, 所有, or 全. It can also be used with words that can be used to mean "none" such as 没有.

Structure

几乎 + Subj. + 都 + Verb / Adj.

Examples

• 几乎 每 个 人 都 有 手机 。Jīhū měi gè rén dōu yǒu shǒujī.Almost everyone has a cell phone.
• 在 我们 公司，几乎 每 个 人 都 会 说 英文 。Zài wǒmen gōngsī, jīhū měi gè rén dōu huì shuō Yīngwén.In our company, almost everyone can speak English.
• 在 中国，几乎 所有 老外 都 会 说 “你好” 。Zài Zhōngguó, jīhū suǒyǒu lǎowài dōu huì shuō "nǐ hǎo."In China, almost all foreigners can say "nihao."
• 几乎 所有 人 都 相信 他 。Jīhū suǒyǒu rén dōu xiāngxìn tā.Almost everyone believes him.
• 几乎 全 世界 的 观众 都 喜欢 这 部 电影 。Jīhū quán shìjiè de guānzhòng dōu xǐhuān zhè bù diànyǐng.Almost all viewers the world over like this movie.

Used before the Predicate

Structure

Subj. + 几乎 + Predicate

Subj. + 几乎 + 不 / 没 + Predicate

Examples

• 爸爸 的 头发 几乎 白 了 。Bàba de tóufǎ jīhū báile.Dad's hair is almost all white.
• 这 次 旅行 ，他们 几乎 花 了 所有 的 钱 。Zhè cì lǚxíng, tāmen jīhū huā le suǒyǒu de qián.They spent almost all of their money on this trip.
• 他 一个人 几乎 吃 了 整个 蛋糕 。Tā yīgè rén jīhū chī le zhěnggè dàngāo.He ate almost the whole cake by himself.
• 我 老板 几乎 不 喝酒 。Wǒ lǎobǎn jīhū bù hējiǔ. My boss rarely drinks.
• 老板 这 几 个 月 几乎 没 好好 休息 过。Lǎobǎn zhè jǐ ge yuè jīhū méi hǎohāo xiūxi guo.Boss has barely taken a decent break these past few months.

See also

• Expressing "almost" using "chadian"
• Approximations with "chabuduo"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 134-6) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 241) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 40) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

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