French Phrase
Je commence à peine.
Meaning
Literally ‘I begin barely’, the phrase means ‘I’m just starting’ or ‘I’ve only just begun’. It stresses that the speaker is at the very early stage of an activity.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to tell someone that you have only just started a task, a project, a hobby, or any activity, and you want to highlight how little progress you have made so far.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Jecommenceàpeine
Je (subject pronoun)
First‑person singular pronoun used as the subject of the verb.
commence (present tense)
Present‑tense form of the regular -er verb commencer, 1st person singular.
à (preposition in idiom)
Part of the fixed expression à peine; it does not carry its usual ‘to’ meaning here.
peine (adverbial idiom)
When combined with à, it forms the adverb à peine = ‘hardly, barely, just’.
🗨In Conversation
Tu as déjà fini le rapport?
Have you already finished the report?
Je commence à peine.
I’m just starting.
✕Common Mistakes
Je ne commence à peine pas.
Do not add a double negative; à peine already conveys the ‘hardly’ meaning.
Je commence très à peine.
À peine cannot be intensified with très; it already means ‘barely’.
Je à peine commence.
The correct order is « commence à peine », not « à peine commence ».
↔Alternatives
Je débute à peine.
I’m barely starting.
Je viens à peine de commencer.
I have only just begun.
Je ne fais que commencer.
I’m only just beginning.
Cultural Tip
In French, à peine is often paired with a negative construction (ne … pas) but the ne is frequently dropped in spoken language: « Je ne commence pas à peine » is wrong, but you’ll hear « Je commence à peine » without any ne. In informal speech many learners prefer « Je viens juste de commencer » which carries the same meaning but sounds more colloquial.