French word

guère

Pronunciation

IPA/gɛʁ/

Meaning

  • adverbhardly ever

Example

Je ne vois guère mon frère.

I hardly ever see my brother.

Illustration for guère (hardly ever)

More examples

Il y a guère d'intérêt pour ce projet.

There is hardly any interest in this project.

Core concept

A faint amount or weak trace, usually set within negation until almost nothing remains.

Common phrases

  • guère de temps

    hardly any time

  • guère de chances

    hardly any chances

  • guère d'intérêt

    hardly any interest

Similar words

peu: Indicates a small amount or low degree.
rarement: Indicates that something rarely occurs.
jamais: Indicates that something never occurs.
à peine: Indicates that something barely happens or almost does not happen.

Definition in French

Marque une quasi-absence ou une insuffisance, équivalent à « presque pas » dans un contexte négatif.

Word origin

French guère comes through Old French gaire or gaires from a Germanic source, and its use in negative contexts developed the sense of almost not.

Usage tips

  • Guère commonly appears with ne, as in Je ne vois guère mon frère, and usually follows the conjugated verb.

Opposites

Word lists with this word