faillir
/fajiʁ/
Translation
to almost do something, to nearly do
Word origin
From Latin fallere ('to deceive, to fail, to be lacking'). The sense 'to nearly do' grew from the older meaning 'to fail to do'. The same root gives English 'fail' and 'fallacy'.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- fallere
- English cognates
- fail, fallacy
Grammar
Irregular verb. A full conjugation table for irregular verbs is coming soon. For now, use a reference like Wordreference or RAE.
Examples
J' l'escalier .
I almost fell down the stairs this morning.
rater .
She nearly missed her train by a few seconds.
, pardonne-.
We almost forgot your birthday, forgive us.
, ' .
He nearly told the truth, then he kept quiet.
heurter piéton carrefour.
The car nearly hit the pedestrian at the junction.
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 30.