Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "hardly" in Russian

This Russian word is one of the top 1000 words in Russian. The complete list of most common Russian words is available here.

чуть

Meaning: hardly, scarcely, just, slightly, a little (bit), almost

Pronunciation: [choot']

Part of speech: adverb

Rank: #229 (see frequency list)

Example sentences:

Ей чуть бо́льше сорока́, и вы́глядит она́ великоле́пно.
She’s a little over forty, and she looks gorgeous.
Э́ту контро́льную наш сын написа́л чуть лу́чше, чем в про́шлый раз.
Our son wrote this test slightly better than last time.
Ты говори́л чуть слы́шно, я ничего́ не мог поня́ть.
You were talking under your breath, I could understand nothing.
literal You were talking hardly audibly, I could understand nothing.
Ма́льчик был чуть живо́й, когда́ его́ нашли́ спаса́тели.
The boy was more than half dead when rescuers found him.
literal The boy was hardly alive when rescuers found him.
Нале́й мне чуть ме́ньше полови́ны ча́шки, пожа́луйста.
Fill my cup a little less than half, please.
Он говори́л об э́том серьёзно? — Не зна́ю, но у него́ была́ чуть заме́тная улы́бка на губа́х.
Was he talking about it seriously? — I don’t know, but there was a faint smile on his lips.
Тури́сты чуть стоя́ли на нога́х по́сле трёх дней пути́.
The tourists barely stood on their feet after three days of walking.
Больно́й чуть дыша́л, и медсестра́ не отходи́ла от его́ посте́ли ни на секу́нду.
The patient could hardly breathe, and the nurse didn’t move away from his bed even for a second.
На ле́стнице бы́ло темно́, и я чуть не упа́л, оступи́вшись.
It was dark on the stairs, and I almost fell after stumbling.
(В маши́не:) Сейча́с возьми́те чуть праве́е и на перекрёстке поверни́те напра́во.
(In the car:) Now bear slightly right, and turn right at the crossroads.

Idioms and set expressions:

чуть свет = at dawn, at daybreak, at first light
literal hardly light
чуть что = at the slightest provocation, on the least occasion, at every trifle
чуть (бы́ло) не (+ verb of perfective aspect) = near(ly)…; almost …; to go near to doing smth; (smb) just about (+ Past Simple); to stop short (of)
чуть ли не … = nearly, almost, just about

Related words:

чуть-чуть = just a little; slightly
едва́ = hardly, scarcely, just
е́ле-е́ле = hardly, barely
немно́го = slightly, a little, a bit
слегка́ = somewhat, slightly, gently

Vocabulary lesson: By RT: Learn Russian exclusively for MasterRussian

Phrase recordings: Copyright(c) 2011 MasterRussian.com. All rights reserved.
Word recordings: Copyright(c) 2006 Streit Goulnara, Streit Eric, Vion Nicolas. Copyright(c) 2007 S. Sakhno, N. Vion. Distributed under CC-BY.

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