What does apenas in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word apenas in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use apenas in Spanish.

The word apenas in Spanish means barely, as soon as, barely, sadden, embarrass, be sad,  feel sad, be embarrassed, feel embarrassed, I hardly speak any English, I barely speak English, take hardly any, I only just realized, once they realize, as soon as they realize, hardly speaks, not...barely, almost without interrupting. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word apenas

barely

adverbio (con dificultad)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Estaba tan cansado que apenas consiguió llegar a casa.
He was so tired he barely made it home.

as soon as

adverbio (tan pronto como)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Apenas llegó a casa se acostó.
As soon as he got home he went to bed.

barely

adverbio (indica poco tiempo)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Hace apenas una semana que empezó a trabajar.
It's barely a week since she started work.

sadden

(causar tristeza) (cause sadness)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Nos apenaba ver como había quedado la casa después del incendio.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. The death of his best friend saddened William.

embarrass

(AmL (causar vergüenza)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El comentario de Roxana apenó a Soledad.
Roxanne's remark embarrassed Soledad.

be sad,  feel sad

verbo pronominal (entristecerse) (feel sadness)

Se apenó cuando los demás se fueron a la playa y él no pudo ir.
He was sad (or: felt sad) when the others went to the beach and he couldn't go.

be embarrassed, feel embarrassed

verbo pronominal (AmL (avergonzarse)

Mamá se apenó cuando Guillermo le preguntó si tenía sueño. —No te apenes, Julián: ¡estamos en familia! ¡Sírvete!
Mum felt (or: was) embarrassed when William asked her if she was tired.

I hardly speak any English, I barely speak English

expresión (hablo poco inglés)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Me fui de viaje y aunque apenas hablo inglés pude comunicarme bien.
I went on vacation and, despite barely speaking English, I was able to communicate well.

take hardly any

expresión (casi no llevar)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Apenas llevábamos provisiones y tuvimos hambre todo el día.
We took hardly any provisions and were hungry the whole day.

I only just realized

expresión (me acabo de dar cuenta) (US)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Apenas me di cuenta de que era su cumpleaños salí corriendo a llamarla.
I only just realized that it was her birthday and I rushed out to call her.

once they realize, as soon as they realize

expresión (en cuanto se den cuenta) (US)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Apenas se den cuenta del error que han cometido se arrepentirán.
Once they realize their mistake they will regret it.

hardly speaks

expresión (casi no habla)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Fernanda es muy tímida y apenas si habla.
Fernanda is very shy and hardly speaks.

not...barely

locución adverbial (casi no)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
No vivimos con lujos, apenas nos alcanza el dinero.
We didn't live in luxury, we barely made ends meet.

almost without interrupting

locución adverbial (casi sin interrumpir)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
María llegó tarde a la reunión y entró sin apenas interrumpir.
Maria arrived late to the meeting and entered without hardly interrupting.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of apenas in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.