à peine

\a pɛn\

/\a pɛn\/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“à peine” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Par une faible marge ; de peu ; seulement ; rien que.

Key facts for à peine
PropertyValue
Headwordà peine
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a pɛn\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “à peine” sits in French frequency

à peine falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

à peine is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a pɛn\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for à peine, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is à peine, spelled À- -P-E-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Par une faible marge ; de peu ; seulement ; rien que.
  2. 2
    À l’instant, avec peu de temps qui s’est écoulé, depuis que la chose dont on parle est arrivée.
  3. 3
    Tout juste.
  4. 4
    Difficilement, presque pas.
  5. 5
    Dans une forte mesure ; énormément.
  6. 6
    De façon flagrante, visible, ouvertement.

Synonyms

justeen tout et pour toutrien queseulementne pas faire semblanténormémentréellementvraimentsans blaguevraiment

This word in other languages

barely(English)apenas(Español)kaum(Deutsch)apenas(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "à peine"?
"à peine" is spelled À- -P-E-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a pɛn\.
What does "à peine" mean?
As an adverb, "à peine" means: Par une faible marge ; de peu ; seulement ; rien que.
How do you pronounce "à peine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à peine" is \a pɛn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à peine" come from?
"à peine" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “à peine”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is À- -P-E-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a pɛn\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list