"хотя бы" is a synonym for "по крайней мере"?

Question

Generally speaking without any context could we say that "хотя бы" is a synonym for "по крайней мере" meaning "at least"?

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 25 '19 at 10:49

These phrases synonymous in one of possible meanings - one that stands for English "at least". There are other meaning in which хотя бы can not be substituted, they are:

As in "хоть бы зима поскорее кончилась!" (not that in modern Russian though there's a tendency to separate хотя бы from хоть бы, though actually the latter is just a shortened form.
As in "взять бы 5й "Б" класс, вот хотя бы Петрова - совсем другие результаты".
As in "хотя бы на час с тобой свидеться".

So basically when you use хотя бы for emphasizing it's interchangeable with по крайней мере to less extent. More on meaning and usages you can find here.

imho in modern Russian "хоть бы" and "хотя бы" have got a different meaning. "Хотя бы зима поскорее кончилась" can be translated as "At least, the winter could end" — Alexander, Jan 25 '19 at 21:22

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 25 '19 at 10:47

Yes. It is even mentioned in dictionaries that "хотя бы" and "по крайней мере" are very close in their meanings.

хотя бы on Wiktionary:

усилительно-выделительная частица, то же, что хотя, хоть, близко по значению к словам по крайней мере, по меньшей мере

по крайней мере on Wiktionary:

хотя бы, по меньшей мере

"хотя бы" is a synonym for "по крайней мере"?

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