Expressing "nearly" with "jihu"

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

Used before the Subject

It is often used together with words that mean "all," such as , 所有, or . 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 gèrén 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 gèrén dūhuì 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 dūhuì shuō “nǐ hǎo”.In China, almost all of the foreigners can say "hello" in Chinese.
  • 几乎 所有 人 都 相信 他 。Jīhū suǒyǒu rén dōu xiāngxìn tā.Almost everyone believes what he said.
  • 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 audiences across the world 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 huāle suǒyǒu de qián.They spent almost all of their money on this trip.
  • 他 一个人 几乎 吃 了 一整个 蛋糕 。Tā yīgè rén jīhū chīle yī zhěnggè dàngāo.He almost ate this whole cake by himself.
  • 我 老板 几乎 不 喝酒 。Wǒ lǎobǎn jīhū bù hējiǔ. My boss doesn't really drink.
  • 老板 这 几 个 月 几乎 没 好好 休息 过。Lǎobǎn zhè jǐ gè yuè jīhū méi hǎohǎo xiūxíguò.Boss has barely taken a break in the past few months.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books