Thread: чуть ли не

Dear all

How do you understand this phrase ?

прежняя любовь к ним превратилась чуть ли не в ненависть.

to translate literally - "only slightly not" - I guess in this context it would be translated as "just about" - "my love for them just about turned into hate"

Originally Posted by John_Douglas

to translate literally - "only slightly not" - I guess in this context it would be translated as "just about" - "my love for them just about turned into hate"

Is it possible to shift "just about" closer to "hate", like "my love for them turned into just about hate", because it should refer to "hate", not to "turned"?
Although, admittedly, it's almost the same thing.

чуть ли не ~ almost
So his love turned into "almost hatred".

eg. Она чуть ли не на голову выше него - She's almost a head taller than him.

"Чуть ли не" is rather close in meaning to "чуть не".
Я чуть не упал = I almost fell.
Я чуть со стула не салился от смеха - I nearly fell off my chair from laughing.
etc.

прежняя любовь к ним превратилась чуть ли не в ненависть.

I believe in written language the closest equivalent set phrase would be "all but"

The used-to-be love has all but turned into hatred.

Чуть ли не = почти