хоць бы

If Only and at Least with Хоць Бы

Level 5Sounds Like hocʹ by

Хоць бы means if only in a wish (Хоць бы дождж скончыўся!) and at least before an amount (хоць бы на гадзіну).

How It Works

1. A wish: if only. Хоць бы opens an exclamation. Use a past-tense verb, as in the conditional, or an infinitive when you mean yourself or people in general:

  • Хоць бы дождж скончыўся! (If only the rain would stop!)
  • Хоць бы адпачыць крыху! (If only I could rest a little!)
  • Хоць бы ён не спазніўся! (I hope he is not late!)

2. A minimum: at least. Put хоць бы right before the word that names the smallest acceptable thing: Прыйдзі хоць бы на гадзіну. (Come for at least an hour.) Скажы хаця б адно слова па-беларуску. (Say at least one word in Belarusian.)

With a past-tense verb about someone else, the minimum often sounds like a reproach: Ён мог хоць бы патэлефанаваць. (He could at least have called.)

Forms. Хоць ends in a consonant, so it takes бы: хоць бы. The conversational variant хаця ends in a vowel, so it takes б: хаця б. Plain хоць can also mean at least: хоць на гадзіну.

Not although. Хоць without бы also means although (хоць and хаця). Adding бы turns it into a wish or a minimum, so do not use хоць бы for although.

For wishes aimed at another person, compare wishes with каб and няхай.

Examples (6)

  1. Хоць бы дождж скончыўся!

    If only the rain would stop!

    Word by Word: At-least would rain stopped!

  2. Хоць бы адпачыць крыху!

    If only I could rest a little!

    Word by Word: At-least would to-rest a-little!

  3. Хоць бы ён не спазніўся!

    I hope he is not late!

    Word by Word: At-least would he not was-late!

  4. Прыйдзі хоць бы на гадзіну.

    Come for at least an hour.

    Word by Word: Come at-least would for hour.

  5. Ён мог хоць бы патэлефанаваць.

    He could at least have called.

    Word by Word: He could at-least would to-call.

    A reproach: he did not call.

  6. Скажы хаця б адно слова па-беларуску.

    Say at least one word in Belarusian.

    Word by Word: Say at-least would one word in-Belarusian.

    Хаця ends in a vowel, so б.

Common Mistakes

  • Using б after хоць.

    Прыйдзі хоць б на гадзіну.
    Прыйдзі хоць бы на гадзіну.

    Хоць ends in a consonant, so it takes бы. Only хаця, which ends in a vowel, takes б: хаця б.

  • Using the future tense in a wish.

    Хоць бы ён прыйдзе!
    Хоць бы ён прыйшоў!

    A wish with хоць бы uses the past-tense form (or an infinitive), even though it is about the future.

  • Using хоць бы to mean although.

    Хоць бы было холадна, мы пайшлі гуляць.
    Хоць было холадна, мы пайшлі гуляць.

    The intended meaning is Although it was cold, we went for a walk. For although, use хоць without бы. With бы the clause becomes a wish or an unreal case, which does not fit something that really happened.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

хоць быLevel 5If Only and at Least with Хоць Бы

Learn This First

If only needs бы and хоць.

Words in This Pattern

хоцьбы