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faillir

almost do (something)

verb fah-EER Less Common
Mind & Emotions Mental States

Also means

fail

Usage Note

Faillir in modern French is almost always used in the construction faillir + infinitive, meaning to nearly do something — j'ai failli tomber means 'I almost fell.' Used to express near-misses, it is one of the few semi-defective verbs in French, rarely conjugated outside the passé composé. The related noun la faillite means bankruptcy.

Examples

"J'ai failli rater mon train."

Natural Translation

I almost missed my train.

Literal Translation

I almost failed to catch my train.

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