Almost in Japanese || ALL Ways to Express Almost

Q: How to say almost in Japanese?

ほとんど hotondo It can be used in both a positive and negative way. A の no has to come after ほとんど hotondo if a noun follows it. ほとんど完成しました。 Hotondo kansei shimashita. It’s almost complete. --- 大抵 taitei & 大体 daitai They are only really used in positive situations. Remember that a の no is needed before a noun. 大抵の人は喜びます。 Taitei no hito wa yorokobimasu. Most people are happy.

Q: How to say because in Japanese?

There are 3 ways to say because in Japanese: There are: から kara ので node なぜなら nazenara Learn more about because in Japanese .

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Absolutely! We offer online Japanese lessons on our Flexi Classes platform. Choose your level, study topic and study time, and you’re good to go! Check out our 7 Day Free Trial to start your learning journey.

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Home B2 Expressing almost in Japanese

HOW TO SAY ALMOST IN JAPANESE

Today we’ll be looking at multiple ways to express almost in Japanese.

We will mention a few sentence structures and plenty of sentence examples, so make sure to bookmark this lesson first!

ALMOST IN JAPANESE WITH ほとんど

ほとんど hotondo

This is the bread and butter of expressing “almost” in Japanese.

This comes before the phrase where you would add “almost” in English. It can be used in both a positive and negative way.

The actual meaning of this can range from “most” to “hardly any” depending on context.

PATTERN

ほとんど + Sentence

^{Kansei shimashita.}

完成しました。

_{It’s been completed.}

^{Hotondo kansei shimashita.}

ほとんど完成しました。

_{It’s almost complete.}

NOTE || A particle の has to come after ほとんど if a noun follows it.

Examples of POSITIVE use

JAPANESE	ENGLISH
ほとんど完成しました。	It’s almost complete.
ほとんどの人が同意しました。	Almost everyone agreed.
ほとんど忘れました。	I almost forgot.

View More Examples:

japanese	english
ほとんどの場合	In almost all cases
ほとんど毎日	Almost every day
ほとんどの時間	Most of the time
ほとんど同じ	Almost the same
ほとんど必要ありません。	It’s almost not necessary.
ほとんど夏休みです。	It’s almost summer vacation.

Before we look at some examples of the negative use, let’s have a quick refresher of the negative form of verbs.

For group 1 verbs, take off the るru, make the あa version of the ending syllable, and then add ないnai.

For group 2 verbs (食べる taberu to eat, 浴びる abiru to bathe, 見る miru to see) start with the dictionary form, then add ない nai in place of る ru.

Examples of NEGATIVE use

JAPANESE	ENGLISH
ほとんどお金がありません。	I hardly have any money.
彼はほとんど食べません。	He hardly eats.
ほとんど時間がありません。	I hardly have any time.

View More Examples:

japanese	english
彼女はほとんど眠りません。	She hardly sleeps.
ほとんど友達が来ません。	Hardly any friends come over.
ほとんど知りません。	I hardly know.
ほとんど問題がありません。	There are hardly any problems.

ALMOST IN JAPANESE WITH 大抵 & 大体

大抵 taitei
大体 daitai

Unlike ほとんど, 大抵 and 大体 are only really used in positive situations.

Remember that a の is needed before a noun.

^{Hito wa yorokobimasu.}

人は喜びます。

_{People are happy.}

^{Taitei no hito wa yorokobimasu.}

大抵の人は喜びます。

_{Most people are happy.}

JAPANESE	ENGLISH
大抵の人は喜びます。	Most people are happy.
大抵の場合。	In most cases.
大抵の学生が試験に合格しました。	Almost all students passed the exam.

View More Examples:

japanese	english
大抵の国で英語が教えられています。	English is taught in most countries.
大抵の場所には無料の駐車場があります。	There are free parking lots in most places.
大抵の人は朝食を食べます。	Most people eat breakfast.
大抵の日は晴れています。	It’s sunny on most days.
大抵の店は午後10時に閉まります。	Most shops close at 10 PM.

ALMOST IN JAPANESE WITH 惜しい

惜しい oshii

This is a bit of a bonus addition.

But it’s worth mentioning that when talking about sports if you were to try to say something along the lines of “You almost got it in,” or “That was almost a goal,” then you would probably say 惜しい (unlucky).

SUMMARY

Here is a summary of the ways to express almost in Japanese, as learned in this lesson:

ほとんど paired with a phrase is how you express “almost”.
ほとんど can be used in positive or negative situations.
大抵 and 大体 can also mean “almost,” but are used for only positive situations.

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FAQs

How to say almost in Japanese?

ほとんど hotondo

It can be used in both a positive and negative way. A のno has to come after ほとんどhotondo if a noun follows it.

ほとんど完成しました。

Hotondo kansei shimashita.

It’s almost complete.

—

大抵 taitei & 大体 daitai

They are only really used in positive situations. Remember that a の no is needed before a noun.

大抵の人は喜びます。

Taitei no hito wa yorokobimasu.

Most people are happy.

How to say but in Japanese?

The most common way to express “but” in Japanese is with the word demo でも.

英語は簡単です。でも、日本語は難しいです。

Eigo wa kantan desu. Demo, Nihongo wa muzukashii desu.

English is easy, but Japanese is difficult.

—

Another way to say but in Japanese is けど (kedo), which is a conjunction used to connect two clauses.

天気が悪かったけど、楽しい旅行でした。

Tenki ga warukatta kedo, tanoshii ryokou deshita.

The weather was bad, but it was a fun trip.

Learn more about but in Japanese.

How to say if in Japanese?

There is several ways to say if in Japanese, depending on the situation. To summarise:

ば is used for real or concrete situations.

たら is used for hypothetical or speculative situations.

なら is used for conjecture or assumption.

と is used for expressing natural consequence.

もし adds an extra air of uncertainty. Often combined with one of the above conditionals.

Learn more about if in Japanese.

How to say because in Japanese?

There are 3 ways to say because in Japanese:

There are:

から kara

ので node

なぜなら nazenara

Learn more about because in Japanese.

Can I learn Japanese online with LTL?

Absolutely! We offer online Japanese lessons on our Flexi Classes platform.

Choose your level, study topic and study time, and you’re good to go!

Check out our 7 Day Free Trial to start your learning journey.

Can I learn Japanese in Japan with LTL?

Yes you can!

We offer group and individual classes in Tokyo, for the duration of your choice.

You can even stay with a homestay family to really immerse yourself in the Japanese culture and discover a Japanese’s family lifestyle.

Japanese Grammar Bank

HOW TO SAY ALMOST IN JAPANESE