几乎 from HSK Level 4 Vocabulary List

The Chinese word 几乎 (jīhū) is composed of two characters: 几 (jǐ) and 乎 (hū). The character 几 originally meant "a few" or "several", and was often used in ancient Chinese texts to indicate an approximate number or quantity. The character 乎, on the other hand, was originally used as an interrogative particle, similar to the English word "huh?" or "really?". When combined together, the characters 几 and 乎 form the word 几乎, which literally means "almost" or "nearly".The etymology of the word 几乎 can be traced back to the ancient Chinese language, where it was used to express the idea of "being close to" or "approaching something". Over time, the meaning of the word evolved to include the sense of "almost" or "nearly", and it is now commonly used in modern Chinese to indicate that something is close to happening or being achieved.In addition to its literal meaning, the word 几乎 can also be used figuratively to express the idea of "on the verge of" or "about to happen". For example, the sentence "他几乎要哭了" (tā jīhū yào kū le) means "he was almost crying", while the sentence "这场比赛几乎要结束了" (zhè chǎng bǐsài jīhū yào jiéshù le) means "the game was almost over".Overall, the word 几乎 is a versatile and commonly used word in Chinese, with a rich etymology that reflects its evolution from an ancient interrogative particle to a modern expression of approximation and nearness.