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In English, the phrase "a few" has a specific meaning. It means three instances of something. If I wanted to say, "I only have a few (of something)" in French, what would be the best word choice?

I can think of a couple possibilities myself.

Example: I only have a few hours.

Je n'ai que plusieurs heures.

Je n'ai que quelques heures.

What would be best? If you can think of a better word, please share.

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I only have a few hours = Je n'ai que quelques heures

I have several hours = J'ai plusieurs heures

I only have 3 hours = Je n'ai que trois heures

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  • What about "je n'ai que peu d'heures"?
    – lemon
    Oct 15, 2017 at 7:50
  • "Peu" fonctionne mal avec "heures". Plutôt : "Je n'ai que peu de temps"
    – Max D
    Oct 15, 2017 at 7:54
  • Je partage que ça sonne mal, pourtant B.2 ("peu de jours") ici cnrtl.fr/definition/peu
    – lemon
    Oct 15, 2017 at 7:59
  • "Un absence de peu de jours", ça va, parce que c'est "de peu", mais "que peu d'heures" ça n'est pas standard.
    – Max D
    Oct 15, 2017 at 8:05
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    Peu de jours is ok, peu d'heures by itself is not. However you could say il ne me reste que peu d'heures à vivre.
    – Emmanuel BRUNO
    Oct 15, 2017 at 8:06

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