Japanese Adverbs Collected

04/09/2020Updated 09/05/20265 min read

Translated from the Vietnamese original. View the original.

An adverb (副詞 – fukushi) in Japanese is an independent word that does not conjugate for tense or as a verb does. Its main job is to add a secondary sense to a verb, an adjective and sometimes to a noun or to another adverb. Adverbs make the degree, the state or the connection (agreement) in a sentence clearer.
A Japanese adverb always stands before the word or phrase it modifies. It can also be placed at the start of a sentence for emphasis, or to express time or a general state.

N5 Japanese adverbs

Stt	Adverb	Romaji	Meaning
1	いつも	itsumo	always
2	たくさん	takusan	a lot
3	ちょっと	chotto	a little
4	ぜんぜん	zenzen	not at all (used with a negative)
5	よく	yoku	often, well
6	まだ	mada	still, not yet
7	もう	mou	already
8	すぐ	sugu	at once
9	とても	totemo	very
10	いっしょうけんめい	isshoukenmei	with all your might, hard
11	はやく	hayaku	fast, early
12	ぜったい	zettai	without fail, absolutely
13	たぶん	tabun	perhaps
14	すこし	sukoshi	a few, a little
15	いま	ima	now
16	けっこう	kekkou	fairly, enough
17	だいたい	daitai	roughly, about
18	ほんとうに	hontou ni	really
19	ぜんぶ	zenbu	all
20	たしかに	tashika ni	certainly, it is indeed

N4 Japanese adverbs

Stt	Adverb	Romaji	Meaning
1	ぜんぜん	zenzen	not at all (used with a negative)
2	たまに	tamani	occasionally, now and then
3	ほとんど	hotondo	almost
4	すこしずつ	sukoshi zutsu	little by little
5	いろいろ	iroiro	all sorts, varied
6	けっこう	kekkou	fairly, enough
7	だいたい	daitai	roughly, about
8	まだまだ	mada mada	far from it, not by a long way
9	もっと	motto	what is more
10	ちょうど	choudo	just right, moderate
11	すぐに	sugu ni	at once
12	だれでも	dare demo	anyone at all
13	けっして	kesshite	never (with a negative)
14	いつも	itsumo	always
15	ときどき	tokidoki	sometimes
16	なるべく	narubeku	as much as possible
17	ぜったいに	zettai ni	absolutely, certainly
18	どこでも	doko demo	anywhere at all
19	ずっと	zutto	all along, continuously
20	もう	mou	again, more

N3 Japanese adverbs

Stt	Adverb	Romaji	Meaning
1	いちばん	ichiban	most, number one
2	ぜひ	zehi	without fail, at all costs
3	どうしても	doushitemo	at all costs, without fail
4	たしかに	tashika ni	certainly, it is indeed
5	すでに	sudeni	already, beforehand
6	じっと	jitto	intently, without moving
7	きちんと	kichinto	neat, tidy
8	かなり	kanari	fairly, relatively
9	もっと	motto	what is more
10	だんだん	dandan	gradually
11	いきなり	ikinari	suddenly, unexpectedly
12	なるほど	naruhodo	quite so, so that's it
13	たぶん	tabun	perhaps, possibly
14	すっかり	sukkari	completely
15	けっこう	kekkou	fairly
16	じょじょに	jojo ni	slowly, gradually
17	せっかく	sekkaku	after all that trouble, making the effort
18	しっかり	shikkari	firmly, steadily
19	きっぱり	kippari	decisively
20	さっぱり	sappari	not at all (negative), refreshed

N2 Japanese adverbs

Stt	Adverb	Romaji	Meaning
1	まったく	mattaku	completely, truly
2	いまだに	imadani	still to this day, even now
3	じつは	jitsu wa	in fact, actually
4	かえって	kaette	on the contrary, conversely
5	きわめて	kiwamete	extremely, exceedingly
6	いっそう	issou	far more, decidedly more
7	やはり / やっぱり	yahari / yappari	still, sure enough, just as expected
8	いきなり	ikinari	suddenly, unexpectedly
9	そっと	sotto	gently, quietly
10	たちまち	tachimachi	at once, quickly
11	ひとまず	hitomazu	for the time being, for now
12	およそ	oyoso	about, roughly
13	めったに	mettani	rarely (used with a negative)
14	すなわち	sunawachi	that is, meaning
15	いちじ	ichiji	for a while, for a moment
16	どうやら	douyara	it seems, apparently
17	つい	tsui	inadvertently, by mistake
18	ひそかに	hisokani	secretly, in secret
19	たちどころに	tachidokoroni	at once
20	じゅうぶんに	juubun ni	fully, completely

Japanese adverbs of time

Stt	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Meaning
1	今日	きょう	kyou	today
2	明日	あした	ashita	tomorrow
3		いつも	itsumo	always
4		ときどき	tokidoki	occasionally
5		たまに	tamani	sometimes
6		よく	yoku	often
7		さっき	sakki	a moment ago

Japanese adverbs of quantity

Stt	Hiragana	Romaji	Meaning
1	たくさん	takusan	a lot
2	すこし	sukoshi	a little
3	ぜんぜん	zenzen	completely
4	いっぱい	ippai	full, plenty
5	どれくらい	dorekurai	how much
6	ほとんど	hotondo	almost, nearly
7	ちょっと	chotto	a little, slightly

Japanese adverbs of assertion and affirmation

Stt	Hiragana	Romaji	Meaning
1	もちろん	mochiron	of course
2	たしかに	tashikani	certainly it is
3	まさに	masani	it is precisely, truly
4	やはり（やっぱり）	yahari (yappari)	sure enough
5	ぜったいに	zettaini	without fail, absolutely
6	きっと	kitto	surely, certainly
7	どうしても	doushitemo	whatever happens

Japanese adverbs of description and state

Stt	Hiragana	Romaji	Meaning
1	ゆっくり	yukkuri	slowly, at leisure
2	はっきり	hakkiri	clearly
3	しっかり	shikkari	firmly, steadily
4	すっかり	sukkari	completely
5	ちゃんと	chanto	properly, seriously
6	ぼんやり	bonyari	absent-minded, vague
7	のんびり	nonbiri	at leisure, relaxed

Japanese adverbs of frequency

Stt	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Meaning
1		いつも	itsumo	always
2		たいてい	taitei	usually
3		よく	yoku	often
4		ときどき	tokidoki	occasionally
5		たまに	tamani	sometimes
6		まれに	mareni	rarely
7	毎日	まいにち	mainichi	every day