Japanese adverbs play a big role in expressing yourself naturally. Adjectives describe nouns, but adverbs do much more. They add nuance, emotion and detail to verbs, adjectives and even other adverbs. Once you start noticing them, you will realize that Japanese uses adverbs everywhere.
In Japanese, adverbs are called 副詞 (fukushi). Some simply modify actions or descriptions, while others show things like frequency such as often or rarely, or express ideas like maybe, never or probably.
One nice thing is that Japanese adverbs almost never change their form. You learn them once and you can use them as they are.
Table of Contents
- How to Use Japanese Adverbs
- Turning Adjectives into Adverbs
- Adverbs About Time
- Adverbs About Frequency
- Adverbs About Degree
- Adverbs About Manner
- Adverbs About Certainty
- Negative Adverbs
- Onomatopoeic Adverbs
How to Use Japanese Adverbs
Japanese word order is pretty flexible, but adverbs typically go before the word they modify. Since verbs go at the end of a sentence in Japanese, the adverb will usually appear before the verb.
Look at these two sentences. They both mean the same thing, with just a slight shift in emphasis:
よく友だちと映画を見に行きます。
Yoku tomodachi to eiga o mi ni ikimasu.
"I often go to the movies with friends."
友だちとよく映画を見に行きます。
Tomodachi to yoku eiga o mi ni ikimasu.
"I go to the movies with friends often."
When sentences get more complex with multiple clauses, place the adverb as close as possible to the word it modifies to keep things clear:
春がもうすぐ終わってますます暑くなります。
Haru ga mou sugu owatte masu masu atsuku narimasu.
"Spring will be ending soon and it'll get hotter and hotter."
Turning Adjectives into Adverbs
You can turn many Japanese adjectives into adverbs. This works a lot like English, and the rules are simple once you learn them.
i-Adjectives: い → く
| Adjective | Adverb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 遅い | 遅く | slow → slowly |
| 早い | 早く | early → early |
| すごい | すごく | amazing → amazingly |
| 速い | 速く | fast → quickly |
| 悪い | 悪く | bad → badly |
| いい | よく | good → well |
沖縄はすごく美しい！
Okinawa wa sugoku utsukushii!
"Okinawa is incredibly beautiful!"
na-Adjectives: な → に
| Adjective | Adverb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 真面目(な) | 真面目に | serious → seriously |
| 静か(な) | 静かに | quiet → quietly |
| 上手(な) | 上手に | skillful → skillfully |
| 下手(な) | 下手に | poor → poorly |
骨折した手首のせいで名前を下手に書いてしまいました。
Kossetsu shita tekubi no sei de namae o heta ni kaite shimaimashita.
"I wrote my name poorly because of my broken wrist."
Adverbs About Time
Time adverbs add context to when something happens. You do not always know the specific hour, but these words let you focus on what matters.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いつも | itsumo | always |
| 時々 | tokidoki | sometimes |
| よく | yoku | often |
| しばらく | shibaraku | for a while |
| ずっと | zutto | the entire time; always |
| すぐに | sugu ni | right away |
| やっと | yatto | finally |
| さっき | sakki | a little while ago |
| すでに | sude ni | already |
| 初めて | hajimete | for the first time |
| また | mata | again |
ずっと一緒にいたい！
Zutto issho ni itai!
"I want to be together forever!"
宿題がやっとできました。
Shukudai ga yatto dekimashita.
"I finally finished my homework."
Adverbs About Frequency
How often does something happen? These adverbs tell you.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いつも | itsumo | always |
| 大抵 | taitei | usually |
| よく | yoku | often |
| 時々 | tokidoki | sometimes |
| たまに | tamani | occasionally |
| 毎日 | mainichi | every day |
| 毎週 | maishuu | every week |
いつも朝ご飯を食べますか？
Itsumo asagohan o tabemasu ka?
"Do you always eat breakfast?"
たまにね。
Tamani ne.
"Sometimes."
Adverbs About Degree
A day at the beach is not just hot, it is very hot. These adverbs add intensity and emotion.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| とても | totemo | very |
| 大変 | taihen | extremely |
| 特に | toku ni | especially |
| 大分 | daibu | fairly |
| なかなか | nakanaka | quite |
| もっと | motto | more |
| ますます | masumasu | more and more |
| 最も | mottomo | most |
| 一番 | ichiban | most (casual) |
本はますます面白くなった。
Hon wa masumasu omoshiroku natta.
"The book became more and more interesting."
一番好きな食べ物はピザです！
Ichiban suki na tabemono wa piza desu!
"My favorite food is pizza!"
Adverbs About Manner
These adverbs describe how an action is done. If you're just starting out with Japanese, you will probably ask someone to speak ゆっくり (slowly) and はっきり (clearly) quite often.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ゆっくり | yukkuri | slowly |
| はっきり | hakkiri | clearly |
| しっかり | shikkari | firmly, properly |
| きちんと | kichinto | neatly |
| なるべく | narubeku | as...as possible |
| とにかく | tonikaku | anyway, at any rate |
| せっかく | sekkaku | with effort; at great pains |
| だんだん | dandan | gradually |
| やはり・やっぱり | yahari/yappari | as expected |
せっかく手伝ってくれたのに…
Sekkaku tetsudatte kureta no ni...
"Even after you went through all that trouble to help me..."
なるべく早く送っておきます。
Narubeku hayaku okutte okimasu.
"I'll send it as soon as possible."
Adverbs About Certainty
Making guesses? Expressing confidence? These adverbs handle probability and conjecture.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 多分 | tabun | probably (confident) |
| 恐らく | osoraku | probably (less confident) |
| きっと | kitto | surely, definitely |
| もちろん | mochiron | of course |
| 確か | tashika | perhaps (based on memory) |
| 是非 | zehi | by all means |
是非日本に来てください！
Zehi nihon ni kite kudasai!
"Please come to Japan. I really mean it!"
Negative Adverbs
Some adverbs require negative verb endings. The sentence must end with ない, ません, or another negative form.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| まだ〜ない | mada~nai | not yet |
| あまり〜ない | amari~nai | not very |
| ほとんど〜ない | hotondo~nai | hardly |
| 全然〜ない | zenzen~nai | not at all |
| 決して〜ない | kesshite~nai | absolutely not; never |
| 別に〜ない | betsu ni~nai | not particularly |
| めったに〜ない | metta ni~nai | rarely, hardly ever |
さっぱり分からないよ。
Sappari wakaranai yo.
"I have no idea." (Literally: I don't understand at all.)
冬の日は必ずしも寒くありません。
Fuyu no hi wa kanarazu shimo samuku arimasen.
"Winter days aren't necessarily cold."
Modern Usage Note:
In casual modern Japanese, 全然 is sometimes used with positive statements to mean "totally", for example 全然いい ("totally fine") or 全然大丈夫 ("completely okay"). It's informal and technically non-standard, but you'll hear it all the time.
Onomatopoeic Adverbs
Japanese onomatopoeia is way more common than in English. These words evoke vivid images and feelings, and they also function as adverbs.
| Adverb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| にこにこ | nikoniko | smiling happily |
| くすくす | kusukusu | giggling |
| しくしく | shikushiku | weeping |
| ぺらぺら | perapera | fluently |
| ふらふら | furafura | dizzy, unsteady |
| わくわく | wakuwaku | excited |
| どきどき | dokidoki | heart pounding |
| きらきら | kirakira | sparkling |
女の子の目はきらきら輝いていた。
Onna no ko no me wa kirakira kagayaiteita.
"The girl's eyes were sparkling."
好きな人が私の隣の席に座って胸がどきどきした！
Suki na hito ga watashi no tonari no seki ni suwatte mune ga dokidoki shita!
"The person I like sat next to me and my heart was pounding!"
Summary
Japanese adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They are essential for natural speech.
- Placement is flexible, but adverbs usually go before the word they modify
- Form adverbs from adjectives: い → く for i-adjectives, な → に for na-adjectives
- Negative adverbs like 全然, 決して, めったに require negative verb endings
- Onomatopoeia functions as adverbs in Japanese and adds vivid expression
Browse all essential Japanese adverbs with audio →
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