nipin napin

Finnish

Alternative forms

• nipin-napin

Etymology

A rhyming phrase. The first word is perhaps from nippa, nipukka, nipistää, while the second may be from the first or from dialectal nappi (“scarce, scanty; narrow”), from Swedish knapp.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnipin ˈnɑpin/, [ˈnipin ˈnɑ̝pin]

Adverb

nipin napin

1. barely (by a small margin, almost not at all)

Synonyms

• hädin tuskin, juuri ja juuri, nippa-nappa, niukasti, niukin naukin, töin tuskin, vaivoin

Further reading

• “nipin napin”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023