barely
/ˈbeəli/adverb
उच्चारण बेअली
बमुश्किल, मुश्किल से
Basic word
- 1
in a way that almost does not happen or exist; only just; simply; just a short time before
बमुश्किल, मुश्किल से
- She barely passed.
- I barely know him.
- I could barely hear the speaker at the back of the hall.
+ 2 more examples
- He had barely sat down when the phone rang.
- There was barely enough food for everyone.
§Structures (grammar patterns) 4
barely + verb / adjective
Barely means only just: it shows that something was close to not happening or was only a very small amount. It already has a negative sense.
'Barely' का अर्थ मुश्किल से या बस-बस है: यह बताता है कि कोई बात होते-होते रह गई या बहुत कम थी। इसमें पहले से ही negative भाव है।
- She barely passed the test.
- The room was barely big enough for two beds.
can barely + verb
With can, barely means with great difficulty. Never add not: 'can barely see' and not 'can't barely see'.
'Can' के साथ 'barely' का अर्थ बड़ी कठिनाई से होता है। उसके साथ 'not' कभी न जोड़ें: 'can barely see', 'can't barely see' नहीं।
- I can barely hear you over the noise.
- He could barely walk after the match.
barely + number / time
Barely before a number or time means no more than that amount.
संख्या या समय से पहले 'barely' का अर्थ उससे अधिक नहीं होता है।
- There were barely twenty students in the hall.
- Barely a week had passed when the results came.
Barely had + subject + p.p. + when
At the start of a sentence, barely takes inverted word order and is followed by 'when', not 'than'. This pattern is popular in error-spotting.
वाक्य के आरंभ में 'barely' के बाद inverted word order आता है और उसके बाद 'when' आता है, 'than' नहीं। यह pattern error-spotting में बहुत आता है।
- Barely had Radhika sat down when the bell rang.
+Collocations 4
barely + adjective
visibleaudibleenoughalivelegiblewarm
- The writing on the old wall was barely legible.
barely + verb
manageescapetouchsurviveknowspeak
- She barely escaped being hit by the speeding bus.
barely + time/number
a minuteten rupeestwo hoursa year
- He earns barely ten thousand rupees a month.
can barely
seebreathestandbelievekeep up
- I can barely believe that the exam is over.
“More examples 5
- It was barely six o'clock, but the shops had already opened.
अभी छह भी नहीं बजे थे, पर दुकानें खुल चुकी थीं।
- The old man could barely climb the stairs.
बूढ़ा आदमी मुश्किल से सीढ़ियाँ चढ़ पा रहा था।
- Radhika barely scraped through the maths paper.
राधिका गणित के पेपर में बस किसी तरह पास हो पाई।
- Barely had the train left the station when it began to rain.
रेलगाड़ी स्टेशन से निकली ही थी कि बारिश शुरू हो गई।
- The signal was so weak that I could barely hear the call.
सिग्नल इतना कमज़ोर था कि मैं फ़ोन पर मुश्किल से सुन पा रहा था।
!Common mistakes 2
✗ I can't barely see the board from the back bench.
✓ I can barely see the board from the back bench.
Barely is already negative in meaning, so it should not be used with not.
'Barely' में पहले से negative अर्थ है, इसलिए उसके साथ 'not' का प्रयोग नहीं होता।
✗ Barely had the match started than it began to rain.
✓ Barely had the match started when it began to rain.
After barely and hardly, the second part begins with when, not than.
'Barely' और 'hardly' के बाद दूसरा भाग 'when' से शुरू होता है, 'than' से नहीं।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
These words all express a small degree, but only some of them also suggest difficulty or a close escape.
ये सभी शब्द थोड़ी मात्रा बताते हैं, पर केवल कुछ में कठिनाई या बाल-बाल बचने का भाव भी होता है।
Only just; often suggests difficulty or a very small margin.
बस-बस; प्रायः कठिनाई या बहुत कम अंतर का भाव देता है।
- He barely passed the exam.
Almost not at all; it is very close in meaning, but is often used about amount or expectation.
लगभग बिल्कुल नहीं; अर्थ बहुत निकट है, पर प्रायः मात्रा या अपेक्षा के बारे में प्रयुक्त होता है।
- I hardly know him.
A formal word similar to hardly and barely, often found in writing.
hardly और barely जैसा औपचारिक शब्द, जो प्रायः लिखित भाषा में मिलता है।
- Scarcely a sound could be heard.
◇Word family
?Which word?
Keep the almost-not words: barely, hardly, scarcely, seldom, rarely (these can start a sentence with inversion in formal English).
लगभग-नहीं के शब्द याद रखिए: barely, hardly, scarcely, seldom, rarely (औपचारिक English में ये inversion के साथ वाक्य शुरू कर सकते हैं)।
§Grammar and usage
Barely, hardly and scarcely have a negative meaning, so they are not used with not ('I could barely hear', not 'couldn't barely'); question tags after them are positive ('She barely ate, did she?').
अक्सर पूछा जाता है: barely, hardly और scarcely का अर्थ नकारात्मक है, इसलिए not के साथ नहीं आते ('I could barely hear', 'couldn't barely' नहीं); इनके बाद question tags सकारात्मक होते हैं ('She barely ate, did she?')।