Beginners Guide And List Of Common Adverbs In Japanese
Ichika
Adverbs tell us when, how, why or where the action happens. They modify a verb, a noun, an adjective, another adverb or a complete sentence. They also can provide us information about manner, quantity, frequency, time, or place.
ADVERB RULE: You can make Japanese adverbs from adjectives in two ways:
- In adjective that ends -i (い). Replacing the -i with -ku (く).
- In adjective that ends -na (な). Replacing the -na with -ni (に). This ending corresponds to -ly in English.
Adverbs made from adjectives -i (い)
| Adjective | Adverb | ||||
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 安い | yasui | cheap | 安く | yasuku | cheaply |
| 早い | hayai | quick | 早く | hayaku | quickly |
| 良い | yoi | good | よく | yoku | well |
- I walk quickly.
- 私 は 早 く 歩 く
- Watashi wa hayaku aruku
Adverbs made from adjectives -na (な)
| Adjective | Adverb | ||||
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 静かな | shizukana | quiet | 静かに | shizukani | quietly |
| 簡単な | kantan'na | simple | 簡単に | kantan'ni | sipmly |
| きれいな | kireina | clean | きれいに | kireini | cleanly |
- You eat quietly.
- あ な た は 静 か に 食 べ る
- Anata wa shizuka ni taberu
Adverbs that don't derive from adjectives
| English | Japanese | Romaji | English | Japanese | Romaji |
| yesterday | 昨日 | kinou | not much | あまり | amari |
| a little | 少し | sukoshi | a few | 少ない | sukunai |
| today | 今日 | kyou | only | ばっかり | bakkari |
| perhaps | たぶん | tabun | tomorrow | 明日 | ashita |
| a little | ちょっと | chotto | very | 大変 | taihen |
| every day | 毎日 | mainichi | how | いかが | ikaga |
| a lot | たくさん | takusan | every morning | 毎朝 | maiasa |
| always | いつも | itsumo | sometimes | ときどき | tokidoki |
| now | 今 | ima | again | また | mata |
| very | とても | totemo | soon | やがて | yagate |
| already | もう | mou | slowly | ゆっくり | yukkuri |
| inmediately | すぐ | sugu | more | もっと | motto |
| yet, still | まだ | mada | completely | なかなか | nakanaka |
| almost | ほとんど | hotondo | clearly | はっきり | hakkiri |
| quickly | どんどん | dondon | seldom | めったに | metta ni |
| suddenly | 突然 | totsuzen | softly | そっと | sotto |
| certainly | きっと | kitto | besides | さらに | sara ni |
| gradually | そろそろ | sorosoro | more and more | 益々 | masumasu |
| before | 前に | mae ni | after | 後で | ato de |
| later | のち | nochi | recently | さっき | sakki |
| until | さきほど | sakihodo | quickly | さっさと | sassato |
| again | 再び | futatabi | already | すでに | sudeni |
| OK | 大丈夫に | daijoubu ni | alone | 一人で | hitori de |
Examples:
-
I go to the school every morning.
-
私 は毎 朝学 校 に 行 く
-
**Watashi wa maiasa gakkō ni iku
-
I almost died in the accident.
-
私 は ほ と ん ど の 事 故 で 死 亡
-
Watashi wa hotondo no jiko de shibō.
