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

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

Structure

几乎 + Noun Phrase + 都 ……

几乎 + 没有 + Noun Phrase ……

Examples

  • 几乎 每 个 人 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 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 会 说 “你好” 。Zài Zhōngguó, jīhū suǒyǒu lǎowài dōu huì shuō "nǐ hǎo."In China, almost all foreigners can say "nihao."
  • 几乎 没有 人 相信 他 。Jīhū méiyǒu rén xiāngxìn tā.Almost no one believes him.
  • 几乎 全 世界 的 观众 喜欢 这 部 电影 。Jīhū quán shìjiè de guānzhòng dōu xǐhuan 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 bái le.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 yīgèrén 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

Sources and further reading

Books