quelque (singular)
You will generally only come across the singular form in a very few fixed expressions, such as quelqu'un (someone), quelque part (some where), quelque temps (some time / a while).
quelques (plural)
Used with countable things it means a couple of, some, a few.
Il a quelques livres à lire.
He has a few books to read.
J'ai acheté quelques bougies pour décorer ma chambre.
I bought a couple of candles to decorate my bedroom.
Here also see Quelques, plusieurs, de nombreux = A few, several, many (quantities)
[un] peu de
Used with uncountable quantities, un peu de means a little, a bit of
J'ai un peu de lait.
I have a little (bit of) milk.
Tu t'es amusé hier? - Un peu.
Did you enjoy yourself yesterday? A bit.
and peu de means little, not much of, few
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
J'ai acheté quelques bougies pour décorer ma chambre.
I bought a couple of candles to decorate my bedroom.
J'ai quelques amis qui vont me rendre visite.
I have some friends who are going to visit me.
Elle a peu d'amis.
She has few friends.
Je la connais depuis quelque temps.
I've known her for some time.
J'ai un peu de lait.
I have a little (bit of) milk.
Tu t'es amusé hier? - Un peu.
Did you enjoy yourself yesterday? A bit.
Nous avons peu d'argent.
We have little money. We haven't got much money.
Il a quelques livres à lire.
He has a few books to read.
Q&A
Chris
Kwiziq community member
21/12/17
There is a specific lesson dedicated to the partitive article.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Stewart
Kwiziq community member
21/12/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
22/12/17
Indeed, with expression of quantity like "beaucoup de, un peu de...", you will only use "du" if you mean "a lot of the, a bit of the", as such:
I drink a bit of milk.
Je bois un peu du lait que j'ai trouvé dans le frigo.
I drink a bit of the milk that I found in the fridge.
Here's our lesson about partitive articles:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/du-de-la-de-l-are-used-to-express-some-or-any-partitive-articles
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
13/03/17
Here the distinction is about whether to use "un peu de" (uncountable) versus "peu de" (countable): you will need the "de" in both cases.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Doraida
Kwiziq community member
13/03/17
I think I understand now
Paul
Kwiziq community member
17/06/18
Used with countable things it means a couple of, some, a few.
[un] peu de
Used with uncountable quantities, un peu de means a little, a bit of
Andrew
Kwiziq community member
11/12/16
Il a quelques amis = he has A FEW friends
Il a peu d'amis = he has FEW friends
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
13/12/16
Michael
Kwiziq community member
3/06/18
Nabeel
Kwiziq community member
3 June 2018
1 reply
Can we say (un peu d’argent) ? And will it make a difference in meaning form ( peu d’argent)
Chris
Kwiziq community member
4 June 2018
4/06/18
Hi Nabeel,
yes, there's a slight difference in meaning.
un peu d'argent -- a bit of money.
peu d'argent -- little money.
For example:
Il ne me faut qu'un peu d'argent pour ça. -- I only need a little bit of money for that.
Il est pauvre. Il a peu d'argent. -- He is poor. He is little money.
Hope that helps, -- Chris (not a native speaker).