adjective
scarce, just
B1
'knapp' means 'scarce' (limited, insufficient) and 'just'/'barely' (narrow margin or almost not). It's a gradable adjective: comparative knapper, superlative am knappsten. Antonym: 'reichlich'. Commonly used for quantities or time (e.g., 'knapp drei Tage' = almost three days). Not a participle; can also function adverbially before numbers.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Er hat das Spiel knapp gewonnen.
He just barely won the game.
Wasser ist in dieser Gegend knapp.
Water is scarce in this area.
Weil die Zeit knapp war, konnten die Arbeiter das Projekt nicht beenden, obwohl sie bis spät arbeiteten.
Because time was tight, the workers could not finish the project, although they worked late.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
imagine a jar with just a 'knap' of jam left on the rim
sounds like 'knap' in English, short and tight
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Can mean 'scarce' (lack of resources) or 'by a small margin / barely'. Common in both everyday and formal contexts.