Learn Romanian › abia
abia
barely /aˈbja/
adverb#589 most common
Also: just, hardly, scarcely, only just
Example sentences
Abia acum am înțeles.
Only now did I understand.
El abia vorbește engleza.
He barely speaks English.
Abia am ajuns la timp la tren.
I barely made it to the train on time.
Abia aștept să încep noul job.
I can hardly wait to start the new job.
Abia după multe încercări a reușit să rezolve problema.
Only after many attempts did he manage to solve the problem.
Abia de se mai zărea silueta lui în ceața deasă, înaintând cu pași nesiguri.
His silhouette could barely be seen in the thick fog as he moved forward with unsteady steps.
Word family
de-abiavariant of "abia", same meaning "barely, only just"
abia-abiacolloquial reduplication, "only just barely", with great difficulty
abia așteptfixed idiom, "I can hardly wait"
Etymology
The origin of "abia" is not settled among Romanian etymologists, and older dictionaries mark it as uncertain. It has long coexisted with the variant "de-abia", built from the preposition "de" plus "abia", and both forms have carried the same meaning of "barely" or "only just" since the earliest written Romanian texts. Because no confirmed Latin or Slavic source is agreed upon, this entry does not assert a root.
Learn Romanian the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,027 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,027 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free