À peine
Example: Il a à peine fini son travail avant la réunion.
Definition
"À peine" is an adverbial phrase in French used to express that something has just barely happened or was done with very little margin or time. For example, in 'Il a à peine fini son travail avant la réunion,' it means he finished his work just barely before the meeting.
Etymology
The phrase "à peine" literally translates to 'at hardly' or 'with difficulty.' It originates from the Old French use of "peine," meaning difficulty or trouble, combined with the preposition "à" indicating the condition or state. Did you know? Over time, "à peine" evolved to emphasize minimal extent or barely sufficient conditions.
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"À peine" appears in the Vocaplus list "French - General - (B1) - set 1", containing 119 commonly used words.
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