еле

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlɛ]

Inherited from Old Church Slavonic ѥлѣ (jelě), from Proto-Slavic *je lě.

е́ле • (éle) (usually dialectal)

1. adds emphasis to a statement or а question

   Synonyms: ех (eh), ле́ле (léle)

   Еле каква стана?

   Ele kakva stana?

   Oh, what has happened?

   Еле че хубаво!

   Ele če hubavo!

   Indeed, [it is] pretty!

2. adds contrast between clauses

   Synonym: нали́ (nalí)

   Намери кого да питаш. Еля знаеш, че не съм тукашен?

   Nameri kogo da pitaš. Elja znaeš, če ne sǎm tukašen?

   You found [the wrong] person to ask. Don't you know that I am not [originally] from here?

• е́ля (élja), е́ли (éli) — dialectal

• ега́ (egá)
• е́де (éde)
• еже- (eže-) (prefix)

• “еле”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• Nayden Gerov (1897) “еле”, in Рѣчникъ на Блъгарскꙑй язꙑкъ. Съ тлъкувание рѣчи-тꙑ на Блъгарскꙑ и на Русскꙑ. [Dictionary of the Bulgarian language]‎^[1] (in Bulgarian), volume 2, Plovdiv: Дружествена печꙗтница "Съгласие.", page 8
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “еле”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 489
• “ѥлѣ”, in Старобългарски речник [Dictionary of Old Bulgarian] (in Bulgarian), https://histdict.uni-sofia.bg, 2011—2025

Ultimately of Persian origin. See titular lemma for more.

е́ле • (éle) (colloquial)

1. alternative form of хе́ле (héle)

From Old East Slavic ѥлѣ (jelě), ѥль (jelĭ), from Proto-Slavic *le, *lě (see *ale). Cognate with Ukrainian єле (jele), dialectal ле (le), Old Church Slavonic ѥлѣ живъ (jelě živŭ) (translates Ancient Greek ἡμιθανής (hēmithanḗs)), Old Church Slavonic лѣ (lě), Serbo-Croatian ле, ље̏ (“negative intensifier”), Bulgarian еле (ele, “finally”), dated Slovene lė́ (“only, just”), Czech le (“and, but, however”), Old Polish le (“only”)

• IPA^(key): [ˈjelʲe]

• Audio:

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е́ле • (jéle)

1. hardly, scarcely, barely
2. slightly
3. with (great) difficulty

• с трудо́м (s trudóm), наси́лу (nasílu), едва́ (jedvá), чуть (čutʹ)

• е́ле-е́ле (jéle-jéle)

• Dal, Vladimir (1880–1882) “еле”, in Толковый Словарь живаго великорускаго языка [Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language] (in Russian), 2nd edition, Publication of the bookseller-typographer Wolf, M. O.