barely

barely — adverb

1. used to say that something is true or happens, but only by a tiny margin — so cl

1.副詞B2
釋義

used to say that something is true or happens, but only by a tiny margin — so close to not being true or not happening that it is almost the opposite.

例句

Jin was so tired after the night shift that he could barely keep his eyes open.

can/could barely + verb showing extreme difficulty

The whisper from the back row was barely loud enough for Mr. Chen to hear.

barely + adjective phrase

同義詞
  • hardly

    very close in meaning; 'hardly' is slightly more common in British English.

  • scarcely

    more formal and a little more literary than 'barely'.

  • just

    more positive in tone — focuses on success, while 'barely' stresses how close it was to failing.

反義詞
  • easily

    opposite tone — without any difficulty.

  • comfortably

    with margin to spare, the reverse of a tight 'barely' margin.

文法句型

barely + verb

can barely + verb

用法筆記

Although 'barely' looks neutral in form, it carries a negative meaning, so the rest of the clause is treated as negative. Avoid pairing it with another negative word — 'I can't barely see' is wrong; say 'I can barely see' or 'I can hardly see'.

常見錯誤

❌I can't barely hear you over the music.
✅I can barely hear you over the music.
💡'barely' already means 'almost not', so adding 'not' creates a double negative.
❌She barely never finishes her homework.
✅She hardly ever finishes her homework.
💡use 'hardly ever', not 'barely never'.

2. used with a past action to mean that almost no time passed before the next thing

2.副詞C1
釋義

used with a past action to mean that almost no time passed before the next thing happened — often paired with 'when' or 'before' to link two events.

例句

Sami had barely sat down at her desk when the fire alarm started ringing.

had barely + past participle + when + clause

We had barely finished dinner before the guests arrived for dessert.

had barely + past participle + before + clause

同義詞
  • just

    less dramatic; 'just' simply marks recency without the surprise tone.

  • no sooner

    stronger and more formal; usually triggers inversion ('No sooner had he sat down than...').

文法句型

barely + past time expression

barely + past participle + when...

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this use anchors a moment in time (often with past perfect 'had barely' plus 'when' or 'before'), not a degree of difficulty. If you cannot replace it with 'almost not', it is this time-sequence sense.

常見錯誤

❌I barely arrived home, and then the storm started.
✅I had barely arrived home when the storm started.
💡this sense usually needs the past perfect plus 'when' or 'before'.