Relative Quantities in Japanese

Q: What does たくさん mean?

たくさん ( takusan ) means a lot or many.

Q: How do I use adverbs in Japanese?

Please see LTL's lesson on adverbs !

Q: What is a low frequency adverb?

An example is あまり ( amari ) which means "not very."

Q: What does ちょっと mean?

ちょっと ( choutto ) means just a little and is commonly used i spoken Japanese.

Q: What does たしかに mean?

たしかに ( tashikani ) means certainly in Japanese.

Q: What is a high frequency adverb in Japanese?

An example is とても ( totemo ) which means "very."

Q: What is an adverb for certainty in Japanese?

An example is ぜったい ( zettai ) which means "definitely."

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QUANTITY IN JAPANESE

Don’t know the exact amount of something but want to express its relative quantity in Japanese?

You need to know about different adverbs of degree!

Until now, we have learned about adverbs and how to use them in sentences.

Today, we are going to show you different degrees of these adverbs.

HIGH DEGREE ADVERBS

We have made this in descending order and put English translations wherever similar ones are available.

But you should know that translation between languages cannot be perfect!

There are always nuances and connotations that you need to be careful about. Also, there are some adverbs that can only be used with negative verb forms.

But, without worrying too much, let’s get started with the highest degrees of adverbs!

Japanese	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
極めて	kiwamete	extremely
非常に	hijyouni	very much
実に	jitsuni	really
本当に	hontouni	really *本当に is colloquial
とても	totemo	very
大変	taihen	extremely, very

View Examples:

EXAMPLE	HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
この人形はとても可愛いですね。	このにんぎょうはとてもかわいいですね。	Kono ningyou wa totemo kawaii desune.	That doll is very cute, right?
あなた達は本当に素敵なお客だ。	あなたちはほんとうにすてきなおきゃくだ。	Anata-tachi wa hontōni sutekina okyakuda.	You’re such a lovely audience.

MEDIUM DEGREE ADVERBS

Here are some of the most common medium degree adverbs in Japanese:

HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
かなり	kanari	fairly
相当	soutou	considerably
だいぶ	daibu	quite

View Examples:

EXAMPLE	HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
私は大分元気になりました。	わたしはだいぶげんきになりました。	Watashi wa daibu genki ni narimashita.	I’m feeling a lot better.
ここからかなり遠とおかったよ	ここからかなりとおとおかったよ	Koko kara kanari tō tōkatta yo	It’s fairly far from here.

LOW DEGREE ADVERBS

Now let’s see the most common low degree adverbs in Japanese:

*HIRAGANA*	*ROMAJI*	ENGLISH
なかなか	nakanaka	quite
まあまあ	maamaa	passably
そこそこ	sokosoko	reasonably
たいして*	taishite	not very
あまり*	amari	not very
全然*	zenzen	not at all

Notes:

The words with * must be used with negative forms.
You might hear the pronunciation of あまり as aanmari rather than amari.

View Examples:

EXAMPLE	HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
今日は雨が全然降りませんでした。	きょうはあめがぜんぜんふりませんでした。	Kyou wa ame ga zenzen furimasen deshita.	It didn’t rain at all today.
僕、なかなかイケメンでしょ！	ぼく、なかなかイケメンでしょ	Boku, nakanaka ikemendesho!	I’m quite handsome!

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

Adverbs of degree can be further subdivided.

We have listed them here for your reference. No matter what the category, usage of adverbs remains the same.

HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
いつも	itsumo	always
普通普段	futsuu・fudan	usually
よくしょっちゅうたびたび	yoku・shoucchuu・tabitabi	often
時々	tokidoki	sometimes
たまに	tamani	occasionally, rarely
あまり*	amari	rarely
めったに*	mettani	hardly, seldom

*They have to be used with negative forms.

View Examples:

XAMPLE	HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
山田さんはいつも漢字の勉強しています。	やまださんはいつもかんじのべんきょうしています。	Yamada san wa itsumo kanji no benkyou shite imasu.	Mr. Yamada is always studying Kanji.
ときどきアニメを見ます。	ときどきアニメをみます。	Tokidoki anime o mimasu.	I sometimes watch anime.

ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY

HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
ぜったい	zettai	definitely
かならず	kanarazu	without exception
たしかに	tashikani	certainly
きっと	kitto	surely
おそらく	osoraku	probably
たぶん	tabun	maybe

You can also use these words as stand-alone words as you get fluent in Japanese.

For example, たしかに is also used as あいづち.

あいづち (aidzuchi) are words that are used in between conversations according to context.

ADVERBS OF QUANTITY

HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
全て全部	subete zenbu	entirely, completely, wholly
すっかり	sukkari	completely, thoroughly
たくさん	takusan	a lot, many
じゅうぶん	jyuubun	enough, sufficiently
あまり*	amari	not very
すこし	sukoshi	a little
ちょっと	choutto	just a little
ほとんど*	hotondo	mostly, nearly, almost (zero)
全然*	zenzen	not at all

*They have to be used with negative forms.

View Examples:

EXAMPLE	HIRAGANA	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
りんごはあまり好きではないです。	りんごはあまりすきではないです。	Ringo wa amari suki dewa nai desu.	I don’t like apples very much.
ちょっと食べる。	ちょっとたべる。	Chotto taberu.	I eat a little

Be sure to use these adverbs according to context to get fluent in Japanese. Also, always pay special attention to adverbs that can only be used with the negative form of verbs!