Japanese Grammar Bank

USING JAPANESE ADVERBS

Are you familiar with the difference between “she sang” and “she sang loudly?

In the second one, an adverb is used to modify the verb and describe the action more precisely. Useful, right?

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the same thing in Japanese.

INTRODUCTION

In Japanese, an adverb is known as 副詞 (ふくし・fukushi).

Adverbs are kind of similar to adjectives as they both modify words.

However, adverbs modify verbs 動詞 (どうし・dōshi), adjectives 形容詞 (けいようし・keiyōshi), and other adverbs, while adjectives only modify nouns 名詞 (めいし・meishi) .

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

Adjectives modify nouns.

Let’s first start from creating adverbs from adjectives.

ADVERBS DERIVED FROM い ADJECTIVES

i-adjectives = い形容詞

i-keiyoushi

As you already know, い adjectives always end with い. So how to turn an い adjective into an adverb?

Just change the final い to く (ku), and you’re done!

The い adjective will turn into an adverb.

PATTERN

Remove い from the adjective + Add く

For example:

EXAMPLEromajiENGLISH
野菜を食べて強くなりました。Yasai o tabete tsuyoku narimashita.I got stronger by eating vegetables.
早く来てください。Hayaku kite kudasai.Please come fast.

ADVERBS DERIVED FROM ADJECTIVES

This is also very simple.

Just change the final な (na) to に (ni).

PATTERN

Remove な from the adjective + Add に

For example:

EXAMPLEromajiENGLISH
静かにしてください。Shizuka ni shite kudasai.Please keep quiet./Please do it quietly.
彼は上手に歌を歌いました。Kare wa jyouzu ni uta wo utaimashita.He sang a song well.

You can carry out conversations more fluently by using time adverbs. Japanese adverbs of time include:

KANJIHIRAGANAromajiENGLISH
今すぐいますぐima suguright now
まえmaebefore
あと/ごato/goafter
もうすぐmō sugusoon
ほとんどhotondoalmost/nearly/mostly
ころ/ごろkoro/goroaround
VIEW MORE ADVERBS
kanjihiraganaromajienglish
やくyakuabout
現在げんざいgenzaicurrently
その間にそのあいだにsono aida nimeanwhile
同時にどうじにdōji niat the same time
いつでもitsu demoat any time
間もなく・しばらくまもなく・しばらくmamonaku/shibarakuin a while
出来るだけ早くできるだけはやくdekirudake hayakuas soon as possible
長い間ながいあいだnagai aidafor a long time

Here are more examples:

EXAMPLEromajiENGLISH
今すぐ来きてください。会議は15分後に始まります。Ima sugu kite kudasai. Kaigi wa juu go-fun go ni hajimarimasu.      Please come right now. The meeting is starting in fifteen minutes.
今は午前7時58分で、もうすぐ8時になります。まもなく電車が来ます。Ima wa gozen shichi-ji go-juu happun de, mou sugu hachi-ji ni narimasu. Mamonaku densha ga kimasu.It is 7:58 a.m. and it’s going to be 8:00 soon. The train comes very soon.

OTHER ADVERBS

HIRAGANAromajiENGLISH
一生懸命(いっしょうけんめい)isshoukenmeivery hard
なるべくnarubekuas much as possible, if possible
ゆっくりyukkurislowly
いちおうichioumore or less, though not quite satisfactorily
のんびりnonnbiriquietly, leisurely
VIEW MORE ADVERBS
hiraganaromanizationenglish
ようやくyouyakuat last (for good things)
やっとyattoat last (for good things)
とうとうtoutoufinally (for good and bad things)
ついにtsuinifinally (for good and bad things)
むしろmushirorather
ますますmasumasuincreasingly, more and more
だんだんdandangradually, little by little
やはり・やっぱりyahari/yapparitoo, also, likewise
still, as before
even so, either way, in any event
as expected
after all
次々に(つぎつぎに)tsugitsuginiin succession

Here are more examples:

EXAMPLEromajiENGLISH
日本語をゆっくり話します。Nihongo wo yukkuri hanashimasu.I speak Japanese slowly.
やっと日本に来ました。Yatto nihon ni kimashita.Finally came to Japan.

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FAQs

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word used to modify the verb in a sentence and describe the action taking place more precisely.

How to use Japanese adverbs of time?

Adverbs of time modify a verb or adjective to talk about when an action is taking place (ex: できるだけ早く・as soon as possible, いますぐ・right now, まもなく・しばらく・in a while).

Check out the table in the article for more!

What other Japanese adverbs are there?

A variety exist, including

しずかに・slowly

のんびり・quietly

ついに・finally

Check out our article for the full list.

How do I make an adverb in Japanese?

With い (i) adjectives, change the い (i) to く (ku).

With な (na) adjectives, change the な (na) to に (ni).

Easy, right?

How many time adverbs in Japanese?

Many!

We’ve included 14 of the most commonly used ones in this article, so make sure to memorize them!

Why should I learn about adverbs in Japanese?

They’ll make your Japanese sound much more natural and contribute greatly to your conversational fluency!

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