камо ли

Let Alone

Level 6Sounds Like kamo li

Камо ли means let alone: Не мога да ходя, камо ли да тичам. (I can't walk, let alone run.)

How It Works

1. The basic pattern. First comes an easier case with a negative, then a comma and камо ли with the harder case. What follows can be a noun phrase or да + a verb:

  • Нямам пари за хляб, камо ли за вино. (I don't have money for bread, let alone wine.)
  • Не мога да ходя, камо ли да тичам. (I can't walk, let alone run.)

2. Order matters. The easier case comes first and the harder one follows камо ли, just as with let alone.

3. Stronger variants. А камо ли, та камо ли and камо ли пък are common: Той не знае английски, а камо ли китайски.

4. The positive use. After a positive statement, (та) камо ли means "all the more so": Тази жега е тежка за младите, та камо ли за възрастните. If the heat is hard on young people, it is even harder on older people.

5. Spelling and style. Write it as two words: камо ли. It is at home in speech and in writing. Plainer alternatives are да не говорим за (not to mention) and още по-малко (even less). To stress the first item instead, use дори/даже or нито.

Examples (6)

  1. Не мога да ходя, камо ли да тичам.

    I can't walk, let alone run.

  2. Нямам пари за хляб, камо ли за вино.

    I don't have money for bread, let alone wine.

  3. Той не знае английски, а камо ли китайски.

    He doesn't know English, let alone Chinese.

  4. Не ми се обади за рождения ден, камо ли да ми купи подарък.

    He didn't call me on my birthday, let alone buy me a present.

  5. Никога не съм го виждал, камо ли да съм говорил с него.

    I've never seen him, let alone talked to him.

  6. Тази жега е тежка за младите, та камо ли за възрастните.

    This heat is hard on young people, and all the more so on older people.

    The positive use: "all the more so".

Common Mistakes

  • Repeating the negation after камо ли.

    Не мога да ходя, камо ли да не тичам.
    Не мога да ходя, камо ли да тичам.

    Камо ли already implies "even less". Adding не reverses the meaning and makes the sentence nonsense.

  • Putting the harder case first.

    Не мога да тичам, камо ли да ходя.
    Не мога да ходя, камо ли да тичам.

    The part after камо ли must be the harder or less likely one. Walking is easier than running, so it comes first.

How It Connects

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

камо лиLevel 6Let Alone

Learn This First

Let alone follows even.

Words in This Pattern

камо ли