Almost (几乎)

几乎 is an adverb meaning "almost" or "nearly." It can modify verbs, adjectives, or entire clauses to indicate that something is very close to a particular state but not quite there. It is more formal than 差不多 and is used in both spoken and written Chinese.

几乎 can express nearness in quantity (几乎所有人 — almost everyone), degree (几乎完美 — almost perfect), or proximity to an event occurring (几乎迟到了 — almost was late). When used with past events, it often implies that something narrowly did or did not happen.

Compare with 差不多 (chàbuduō): 差不多 is more colloquial and can also mean "more or less" or "good enough," while 几乎 specifically means "almost" and has a more precise, formal tone. 几乎 also tends to emphasize how close something came to an extreme.