bit by bit

English

Etymology

From bit +‎ by +‎ bit. Compare West Frisian bytsje by bytsje (“bit by bit”), Dutch beetje bij beetje (“bit by bit”).

Adverb

bit by bit (not comparable)

1. A small amount at a time

   Synonyms: little by little, incrementally, step by step, stepwise, footmeal, gradatim, piece by piece

Translations

a small amount at a time

• Arabic:

  Gulf Arabic: شوي شوي (šway šway)

• Armenian: կամաց-կամաց (kamacʿ-kamacʿ)
• Asturian: a poco a poco
• Catalan: a poc a poc (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: ^{(please verify)} 一啲一啲 (jat¹ di¹ jat¹ di¹), 漸漸／渐渐 (zim⁶ zim⁶, zim⁶ zim^6-2), 逐漸／逐渐 (zuk⁶ zim⁶, zuk⁶ zim^6-2)

  Mandarin: 逐漸／逐渐 (zh) (zhújiàn), 漸漸／渐渐 (zh) (jiànjiàn)

• Danish: lidt efter lidt, peu à peu pø om pø
• Dutch: beetje bij beetje
• Esperanto: iom post iom
• Extremaduran: pocu a pocu
• Faroese: smátt um smátt, so við og við, (colloq.) pø á pø
• Finnish: hiljalleen (fi), pala palalta, pikkuhiljaa (fi), vähän kerrassaan, vähitellen (fi), vähä vähältä (fi),
• French: peu à peu (fr), petit à petit (fr)
• Galician: aos poucos, pouco a pouco, pouco e pouco
• Georgian: ცოტ-ცოტა (coṭ-coṭa), ნელ-ნელა (nel-nela)
• German: Stück für Stück, nach und nach (de), allmählich (de) peu à peu (de)
• Hebrew: מעט מעט
• Hiligaynon: ^{(please verify)} amat-amat lang
• Hungarian: apránként (hu), lassanként (hu)
• Irish: ó ghiota go giota
• Italian: a poco a poco, man mano
• Japanese: 少しずつ (すこしずつ, sukoshizutsu), 追々 (oioi)
• Khmer: បន្តិចម្ដង ៗ (bɑntəch mdɑɑng bɑntəch mdɑɑng)
• Korean: 야금야금 (ko) (yageumyageum)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کەم کەم (kem kem), نەختە نەختە (nexte nexte)

• Latin: paulātim, tractim, pauxillātim
• Luxembourgish: no an no
• Macedonian: малку по малку (malku po malku), малце по малце (malce po malce)
• Maori: turuki
• Navajo: tąądee
• Norwegian: pø om pø

  Bokmål: litt etter litt, litt etter hvert, pø om pø

  Nynorsk: litt etter litt, litt etter kvart

• Occitan: pauc a pauc
• Persian: کم‌کم (fa) (kam-kam)
• Plautdietsch: bessawiess
• Polish: krok po kroku (pl), po trochu
• Portuguese: de pouco em pouco, pouco a pouco (pt), aos poucos (pt)
• Romanian: puțin câte puțin
• Russian: ма́ло-пома́лу (ru) (málo-pomálu), понемно́гу (ru) (ponemnógu), постепе́нно (ru) (postepénno)
• Scottish Gaelic: mean air mhean, beag air bheag, ceum is ceum
• Spanish: poco a poco (es), a poquitos
• Swedish: lite i taget, pö om pö (sv), bit för bit, efterhand (sv)
• Tagalog: ^{(please verify)} paunti-unti lang
• Turkish: az az (tr), azar azar (tr)
• Ukrainian: потро́ху (uk) (potróxu)
• Vietnamese: dần dần (vi)
• Walloon: pitchote a midjote (wa)
• Yiddish: שטיקלעכווײַז (shtiklekhvayz)