Precious little Meaning in English
expression
ˈpɹɛʃəs/ /ˈɫɪtəɫ
PRESH-uhs LIH-tul
pɹˈɛʃəs/ /lˈɪtəl
pr-ESH-uhs li-Tuhl
Definition
Used to emphasize that there is almost nothing of something; very little, almost none.
Usage & Nuances
'Precious little' is slightly formal or literary, often used with irony to stress the small amount of something (e.g., 'precious little time'). Not about value, but about how little there is. Common in negative or critical contexts.
Spanish: muy poco - casi nadaPortuguese (BR): muito pouco - quase nadaPortuguese (PT): muito pouco - quase nadaChinese (Simplified): 非常少 - 几乎没有Chinese (Traditional): 非常少 - 幾乎沒有Hindi: बहुत ही कम - लगभग कुछ नहींArabic: قليل جدًا - لا شيء تقريبًاBengali: একেবারে সামান্য - প্রায় কিছুই নয়Russian: совсем немного - почти ничегоJapanese: ほんのわずか - ほとんどないVietnamese: cực kỳ ít - hầu như không cóKorean: 매우 적은 - 거의 없는Turkish: çok az - neredeyse hiçUrdu: انتہائی کم - تقریباً کچھ نہیںIndonesian: sangat sedikit - hampir tidak ada
Example Sentences
There's precious little food left in the fridge.
basic
He has precious little patience with children.
basic
We learned precious little from the meeting.
basic
All that work and I've made precious little progress.
natural
She gave me precious little information to help.
natural
After all this waiting, there's precious little we can do now.
natural