барем / дури / баш / токму

Emphasis Particles

Level 5Sounds Like barem; duri; baš; tokmu

Барем = at least: Јави се барем еднаш. (Call at least once.) Дури = even, as many as. Баш and токму = exactly, just: Токму тоа сакав. (That is exactly what I wanted.)

How It Works

Барем: at least. It names the minimum you want or accept: Јави се барем еднаш неделно. (Call at least once a week.) Барем не врне. (At least it is not raining.) It is common in wishes: Да имав барем малку време! (If only I had at least a little time!)

Дури: more than expected.

  • With и, it means "even": дури и децата (even the children). See дури и.
  • With a number, "as many as": Доби дури пет награди. (He won as many as five awards.)
  • With a place, "all the way to": Одевме пешки дури до езерото. (We walked all the way to the lake.)
  • With a time, "only then", later than expected: Дури синоќа дознав за тоа. (I only found out about it last night.)

Баш: exactly, just, really. It is casual and very common in speech: Баш тоа сакав. (That is exactly what I wanted.) Баш кога излегов, почна да врне. (Just as I went out, it started to rain.) Баш ми е мило. (I am really glad.) Не е баш така means "it is not exactly like that".

Токму: exactly, precisely. It works in any style, including writing: Токму тоа сакав. Стигнавме токму навреме. (We arrived just in time.) Токму така! (Exactly!)

Less than expected. Само is the opposite of дури: само пет (only five), but дури пет (as many as five).

Examples (6)

  1. Јави се барем еднаш неделно.

    Call at least once a week.

    Word by Word: Report yourself at-least once weekly.

  2. Барем не врне.

    At least it is not raining.

    Word by Word: At-least not rains.

  3. Доби дури пет награди.

    He won as many as five awards.

    Word by Word: Got even five awards.

    Дури shows that five is more than expected.

  4. Дури синоќа дознав за тоа.

    I only found out about it last night.

    Word by Word: Even last-night found-out-I about that.

    With a time, дури shows that something happened later than expected.

  5. Баш кога излегов, почна да врне.

    Just as I went out, it started to rain.

    Word by Word: Just when went-out-I, started to rain.

  6. Токму тоа сакав.

    That is exactly what I wanted.

    Word by Word: Exactly that wanted-I.

Common Mistakes

  • Using дури for "only" with an amount.

    Имам дури пет денари. (meaning: I only have five denars.)
    Имам само пет денари.

    Дури shows more than expected, so the first sentence means "I have as many as five denars". For a small amount, use само.

  • Using дури alone for "even if".

    Дури врне, ќе одиме. (meaning: Even if it rains, we will go.)
    Дури и да врне, ќе одиме.

    Before a verb, дури alone is a conjunction meaning "until" or "while", not "even if". For "even if", use дури и да + a present verb.

How It Connects

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

барем / дури / баш / токмуLevel 5Emphasis Particles

Learn This First

Emphasis particles follow even.

Words in This Pattern