▎幾乎, jīhū, (Adv), almost

 

Function The adverb 幾乎 indicates nearness. Its meaning is similar to ‘almost, nearly’ in English.

1 這幾天幾乎每天都下雨。

Zhè jǐ tiān jīhū měi tiān dōu xià yǔ.

It has rained almost every day lately.

2 他為了省錢幾乎每天都在學生餐廳吃飯。

Tā wèile shěng qián jīhū měi tiān dōu zài xuéshēng cāntīng chīfàn.

To save money, he has been eating in the student cafeteria almost every day.

3 這裡的人她幾乎都認識。

Zhèlǐ de rén tā jīhū dōu rènshì.

She knows almost everybody here.

4 他的婚禮幾乎花光了他所有的錢。

Tā de hūnlǐ jīhū huāguāngle tā suǒyǒu de qián.

He spent almost all of his money on his wedding.

5 他很節省。衣服幾乎都是朋友穿不下送他的。

Tā hěn jiéshěng. Yīfú jīhū dōu shì péngyǒu chuānbúxià sòng tā de.

He’s very frugal. Almost all of his clothes were given to him by friends after they could no longer wear them.

 

Usage

(1) When 差不多chàbùduō means ‘almost’, 幾乎 and 差不多 are interchangeable, indicating near-totality, e.g., 他差不多每天都運動～他幾乎每天都運動。Tā chàbùduō měi tiān dōu yùndòng ~Tā jīhū měi tiān dōu yùndòng. ‘He exercises almost every day.’

(2) 差不多 can mean ‘approximately’ when it is followed by a number. However, 幾乎 can not mean ‘approximately’. So, 我吃了差不多二十個水餃。Wǒ chīle chàbùduō èrshí ge shuǐjiǎo. means ‘I ate approximately/about 20 dumplings’. The person may have eaten more than or fewer than 20 dumplings. By contrast, 我吃了幾乎二十個水餃。Wǒ chīle jīhū èrshí ge shuǐjiǎo. means ‘I ate almost 20 dumplings’. In this case, the person definitely ate fewer than 20 dumplings.