потихоньку

Russian

Etymology

по (po) +‎ ти́хий (tíxij) +‎ -оньку (-onʹku)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pətʲɪˈxonʲkʊ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

потихо́ньку • (potixónʹku) (diminutive потихо́нечку)

1. OK, so-so (in answer to the question, "как дела?" ("How are you?"), the response "потихоньку"—"OK" or "I'm getting along okay"—implies that things could be better and could be worse)
2. silently
3. gently
4. on the sly

Related terms

• ти́хий (tíxij), ти́хо (tíxo)