Spanish word

apenas

Pronunciation

IPA/aˈpenas/

Meaning

  • adverbhardly, barely

Example

Apenas conozco a nadie en esta ciudad.

I hardly know anyone in this town.

Illustration for apenas (hardly)

More examples

Apenas hay pan en la despensa.

There is hardly any bread in the pantry.

Core concept

A candle with a barely visible flame.

Common phrases

  • apenas hay

    There is hardly any

  • apenas tengo

    hardly have

  • apenas puedo

    can hardly

Similar words

casi: Falls just short of a target amount or state without fully attaining it.
por poco: Edges close to occurring but does not actually happen.
rara vez: Happens seldom and takes place only on rare occasions.
a duras penas: Holds together or is achieved only through great struggle and effort.

Definition in Spanish

Se emplea para indicar que algo ocurre o existe en muy poca medida, es decir, que casi no sucede (equivalente a «casi no»).

Word origin

Formed from a + penas (Spanish pena derives from Latin poena), where the phrase fused into one word and its meaning shifted from 'with difficulty' to a sense of scarcely or barely.

Usage tips

  • When placed directly before the verb, 'apenas' restricts the degree expressed by the verb, while sentence-initial + preterite commonly gives a temporal 'as soon as' reading.

Other meanings

  • only justadverb
  • as soon asconjunction

Opposites

  • completamentecompletelyadverb

Word lists with this word