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apenas

barely; hardly

adverb ah-PEH-nahs Less Common
Grammar & Structure Adverbs

Also means

as soon as

Usage Note

Apenas is used both as 'barely/scarcely' (apenas dormí = I barely slept) and, particularly in Latin America, as a conjunction meaning 'as soon as' (apenas llegué, llamé = as soon as I arrived, I called). In Spain the 'as soon as' sense is less common, where en cuanto or nada más are preferred. This regional split can cause misunderstanding between Spanish varieties.

Examples

"Apenas puedo escucharte."

Natural Translation

I can barely hear you.

Literal Translation

Barely I-can to-listen-you

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