I.few <comp fewer, superl fewest> [Brit fjuː, americ fju] ADJ When few is used as an adjective to indicate the smallness or insufficiency of a given number or quantity (few houses, few shops, few people) it is translated by peu de: peu de maisons, peu de magasins, peu de gens. Equally the few is translated by le peu de: the few people who knew her le peu de gens qui la connaissaient. For examples and particular usages see I. 1. in the entry.
When few is used as an adjective in certain expressions to mean several, translations vary according to the expression: see I. 2. in the entry.
When a few is used as an adjective(a few books), it can often be translated by quelques: quelques livres; however, for expressions such as quite a few books, a good few books, see II. in the entry.
For translations of few used as a pronoun (few of us succeeded, I only need a few) see II. and III. in the entry.
For translations of the few used as a noun (the few who voted for him) see IV. in the entry.
1. few (not many):
- a man of few words (approvingly)
2. few (some, several):
II.a few ADJ
- a few