| Principales traductions |
| few adj | (not many) | peu de |
| | Few people know that Schumann's wife was also a gifted composer. |
| | Peu de gens savent que l'épouse de Schumann composait avec talent. |
| few pron | (not many people) | peu de gens nmpl |
| | | peu nm inv |
| Note: Used with a plural verb |
| | Few have ever seen this painting. |
| | Peu de gens ont déjà vu ce tableau. |
| | Peu sont ceux qui ont pu voir ce tableau. |
| a few adj | (small number of) | quelques adj |
| | I've got a few questions to ask you. |
| | J'ai quelques questions à vous poser. |
| a few pron | (small number) (petit nombre) | quelques-uns pron pl |
| | | certains pron pl |
| Note: Used with a plural verb |
| | A few came, but not many. |
| | Quelques-uns sont venus, mais pas beaucoup. |
| | Certains sont venus, mais pas beaucoup. |
| a few of pron | (small number) (petit nombre) | quelques-uns de, quelques unes de pron + prép |
| Note: Used with a plural verb |
| | A few of her students failed the exam. |
| | Quelques-uns de ses étudiants ont échoué l'examen. |
| the few npl | (minority) | le peu de gens nmpl |
| | | les quelques personnes nfpl |
| | The few who knew him well, loved him dearly. |
| | Le peu de gens qui le connaissaient bien l'aimaient beaucoup. |
Formes composées
few | fewer |
| a few bob n | UK, slang, dated (money: small sum) (petite somme d'argent) | quelques pièces (de monnaie) nfpl |
| | I gave a few bob to the kid next door; he helped me wash the car. |
| | J'ai donné quelques pièces au fils des voisins qui m'avait aidé à laver la voiture. |
| a few bob n | UK, slang (money: quite a lot) (familier) | un bon paquet nm |
| | | pas mal d'argent nm |
| | That couple have a big house and a nice car; they must be worth a few bob. |
| a few times adv | (on several occasions) | à plusieurs reprises loc adv |
| | That boy has come over a few times and always behaved himself. |
| | Ce garçon nous a rendu visite à plusieurs reprises et il s'est toujours bien comporté. |
| a few times adv | (with several repetitions) | plusieurs fois loc adv |
| | After you do it a few times it doesn't seem so terrible. |
| | Après l'avoir fait plusieurs fois, cela ne semble pas si terrible. |
| a few too many expr | (an excessive number of) | (bien) trop de adv |
| | This has happened a few too many times now. It has to stop. |
| | C'est arrivé bien trop de fois. Cela doit cesser. |
| every few adj | (at intervals) | tous les deux ou trois [jours, semaines...] |
| | | à quelques [secondes, minutes, heures...] d'intervalle |
| | My brother, who lives two hundred miles away, visits us every few weeks. |
| | Mon frère, qui vit à 320 km, nous rend visite toutes les deux ou trois semaines. |
| few and far between adj | colloquial (rare) | rare adj |
| | (familier) | ne pas courir les rues loc v |
| | | ne pas être légion loc v |
| | These days, public telephone boxes are few and far between. |
| | De nos jours, les cabines téléphoniques publiques sont rares. |
| | De nos jours, les cabines téléphoniques publiques ne courent pas les rues. |
| the happy few npl | figurative (small number of fortunate people) (anglicisme) | les happy few nmpl |
| | | les privilégiés nmpl |
| | (figuré, familier) | le gratin nm |
| have a few too many v expr | UK, slang (drink alcohol to excess) (familier) | boire un coup de trop loc v |
| | (familier) | avoir un coup dans le nez loc v |
| | | boire trop vi + adv |
| | The bartender kept her car keys because she had had a few too many. |
| | Le barman ne lui a pas rendu ses clés de voiture parce qu'elle avait bu un coup de trop. |
| | Le barman ne lui a pas rendu ses clés de voiture parce elle avait un coup dans le nez. |
| | Le barman lui a confisqué ses clés parce qu'elle avait trop bu. |
| in a few words adv | (succinctly) | en quelques mots |
| | That's such a long story! I'll tell you in a few words. |
| | C'est une longue histoire. Je vais te la raconter en quelques mots. |
| man of few words n | (man who speaks very little) | homme peu loquace nm |
| | He may be a man of few words, but when he does say something it's worth hearing. |
| | C'est peut-être un homme peu loquace mais quand il parle, il ne dit que des choses intéressantes. |
| not a few adj | (quite a lot) (familier) | pas mal de |
| | There were not a few vegetarians among us. |
| | Il y avait pas mal de végétariens parmi nous. |
| of few words adj | (taciturn, who rarely speaks) | peu loquace adv + adj |
| | He's the strong, silent type, a man of few words. |
| quite a few adj | (a considerable number of) | un bon nombre de |
| | (familier) | pas mal de |
| | I didn't expect many participants, but quite a few people actually came. |
| | Je n'attendais pas beaucoup de participants mais un bon nombre de personnes sont venus en fait. |
| quite a few adv | (a considerable number) | un bon nombre |
| | (familier) | pas mal |
raise eyebrows,
raise a few eyebrows v expr | informal, figurative (cause surprise) | faire tiquer loc v |
raise eyebrows,
raise a few eyebrows v expr | informal, figurative (cause disapproval) | faire sourciller loc v |
| say a few words v expr | informal (make a short speech) | dire quelques mots loc v |
| | I was asked to say a few words at my Grandpa's funeral. |
| | On m'a demandé de dire quelques mots à l'enterrement de Papy. |
| select few npl | (small number of chosen people) | quelques privilégiés nmpl |
| | Only a select few are accepted into the society each year. |
| | I was among the select few to attend the private viewing. |
| to name but a few expr | (some of a long list) | pour n'en citer que quelques-uns expr |
| | | pour n'en citer que ceux-là expr |
| | What lakes are in Minnesota? To name but a few, Red Lake, Gull Lake, and Lake Minnetonka. |
| too few adj | (not a high enough number of) | trop peu de, pas assez de, pas suffisamment de expr |
| | | (ne...) pas assez de, pas suffisamment de expr |
| | (plus soutenu) | (ne...) pas suffisamment de expr |
| | I have too few books to fill my bookcase. |
| | J'ai trop peu de livres pour remplir ma bibliothèque. |
| | Je n'ai pas assez de livres pour remplir ma bibliothèque. |
| too few adj | (not enough: in number) (personnes) | trop peu nombreux expr |
| | We tried to fight the plans to build a huge shopping centre just outside our village, but we were too few against a huge corporation; we lost. |
| very few adj | (not many) | très peu de expr |
| | There are very few pills left in the bottle; I need to call the doctor to get a new prescription. |
| | Il reste très peu de pilules dans le flacon : il faut que j'appelle le médecin pour faire renouveler mon ordonnance. |
| very few adj | (rare) | très peu de expr |