How to use 几乎
Subj. + 几乎 + Verb
几乎 indicates that a statement comes very close to being completely true. Before a phrase containing 每 or 所有, it narrows an otherwise universal claim to almost all members. Before 没有, it can express near absence. The placement tells the reader whether the approximation concerns a group, an amount, or the following situation.
Before a predicate, 几乎 can describe a state or event approaching a limit. It is therefore broader than nearly carrying out an action: it can also qualify a degree or a proportion. Do not read it as an exact percentage, and do not assume it guarantees the limiting event happened. The sentence identifies the boundary being approached.
Examples with pinyin and English
几乎每个人都有手机。
Almost everyone has a cell phone.
在我们公司， 几乎每个人都会说英文。
In our company, almost everyone can speak English.
在中国， 几乎所有老外都会说 “你好”。
In China, almost all foreigners can say "nihao."
几乎没有人相信他。
Almost no one believes him.
What to remember
- Check what 几乎 directly qualifies.
- 几乎所有 means almost all.
- 几乎没有 expresses hardly any or near absence.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.