Al principi
Example: Al principi, no entenia res del que passava.
Definition
"Al principi" is a Catalan expression meaning 'at the beginning' or 'initially.' It is used to indicate the starting point of an event, process, or situation, as in the example phrase 'Al principi, no entenia res del que passava,' meaning 'At the beginning, I understood nothing of what was happening.'
Etymology
The expression "Al principi" comes from Catalan, where 'al' is a contraction of the preposition 'a' (to/at) and the definite article 'el' (the), and 'principi' means 'beginning' or 'principle.' 'Principi' itself derives from the Latin 'principium,' meaning 'beginning' or 'origin.' Did you know? The Latin root also gave rise to English words like 'principle' and 'principal.'
Learn to use this expression actively
"Al principi" appears in the Vocaplus list "", containing 105 commonly used expressions.
Would you like to not only understand these expressions, but also remember them and use them actively? Create a free account and select Catalan as the language you want to learn.
Create a free account
