How to Say ‘By a little; almost’ in Italian
Per poco
pehr POH-koh
[pehr POH-koh]
💬 Usage Tip: [Per poco] means [almost] only in patterns like [per poco + non + verb]: [Per poco non cadevo] = [I almost fell]. It looks negative because of [non], but the whole idea is that something nearly happened.
Phrase Breakdown
Per
[pehr]
for / by
In this expression, per is part of the fixed phrase per poco, meaning 'almost' or 'by a little'.
Per poco prendevamo gol.
We almost conceded a goal.
poco
[POH-koh]
little
Literally means 'little'; in per poco it helps express that something nearly happened.
Per poco perdevamo la partita.
We almost lost the match.
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