We have seen all the fundamental particles. We will now broaden our horizons to create sentences in Japanese by addressing adverbs.
So, an adverb in Japanese, what is it ? What’s the point ?
An adverb, as in all languages of the world, is used to qualify the verb, to give a detail, to specify how the action takes place. To give you an example, first in English : I walk slowly. « Slowly » is an adverb that specifies how I walk.
In a Japanese sentence, the adverb is located just before what the adverb is specifying.
An adverb will therefore essentially specify, qualify a verb but can also qualify words or adjectives. That said, in the example sentences that we’ll see together, we won’t see any adjectives just yet. We will stay on sentences with verbs, adverbs and nouns. There is also a category of adverbs requiring the use of a particle, either the particle に or the particle と, to place the adverb in the sentence, but for now I am not going to bother you with that. I will show you in the examples some common and easy-to-use adverbs that do not require any particles.
So, I will now give you a list of different types of adverbs with, for each, an example sentence to illustrate the use of each type of adverbs. We will stay with very simple sentences in order to stay focused on the nuance brought by the adverb.
Of course, as you might expect, there are hundreds of adverbs in Japanese and even several synonymous adverbs. In addition, there is a section on the site exclusively devoted to Japanese adverbs where I have created more than a hundred files on the most common adverbs of the Japanese language with a lot of detailed explanations and examples that I invites you to consult when you have time.
Finally, as a general rule, most adverbs can be written in kanji, but most of the time they are written in hiragana. I’ll give you the most common writing.
Here we go !
We’ll start with the adverbs of manner which always accompany an action verb and are used to accentuate, to nuance the action described by the verb.
ゆっくり. Slowly
しっかり. Firmly
きちんと. Carefully, with care
久代と英太はゆっくり歩く。
ひさよとえいたはゆっくりあるく。
Hisayo and Eita walk slowly.
As you can see from the example above, we simply put the adverb before the verb to nuance it.
Another example :
私は一日三回歯をちゃんと磨く。
わたしはいちにちさんかいはをちゃんとみがく。
I brush my teeth properly.
As you can see from the example above, we just put the adverb before the verb to nuance it.
Let’s continue with the adverbs of degree which, placed on another adverb, specifies the degree to which this other adverb is made. For the example, we will use the previous sentence.
とても . Very
もっと . Even more
かなり . Enough
一寸 . ちょっと . A little (extremely common in hiragana)
久代と英太はとてもゆっくり歩く。
ひさよとえいたはとてもゆっくりあるく。
Hisayo and Eita walks very slowly.
We simply place the adverb とても before the adverb ゆっくり to nuance it. It specifies the degree of slowness of the adverb « slowly ».
Later, we can use adverbs of degree on adjectives to say « bigger ».
Let’s continue with the adverbs of quantity. We will use these with verbs to specify in what quantity the action is done.
沢山 . タクサン . Many
いっぱい . Full
少し . すこし . A little
咲夜と鈴香はガストン・ラガッフの漫画を沢山読む。
さくやとすずかはガストン・ラガッフのまんがをタクサンよむ。
Sakuya and Suzuka read a lot of Gaston Lagaffe’s comics.
We simply place the adverb 沢山 . タクサン before the verb to qualify it. Some adverbs of quantity can determine a noun with the particle の to add a slight nuance.
咲夜と鈴香は沢山のガストン・ラガッフの漫画を>読む。
さくやとすずかはタクサンのガストン・ラガッフのまんがをよむ。
Sakuya and Suzuka read a lot of Gaston Lagaffe’s comics.
The translation of the sentence in English is exactly the same but the nuance in the Japanese sentence is put on the word 漫画 . マンガ rather than on the verb.
Below is another example with the adverb 少し . すこし :
私は日本語を少し話す。
わたしはにほんごをすこしはなす。
I speak a little Japanese.
As always, we simply place the adverb 少し . すこし before the verb to nuance it.
Note that the adverbs of degree and quantity can be used on common nouns, more exactly on spatial and temporal landmarks.
For example, if we want to say « a little to the right », we will say :
少し右 . すこしみぎ . A little to the right
And if we mean « a little more to the left », we will say :
もっと少し左 . もっとすこしひだり . A little more to the left
Now observe this sentence :
広美のボールは棚の上でもっと少し左だ。
ひろみのボールはたなのうえでもっとすこしひだりだ。
Hiromi’s ball is a little further to the left on the shelf.
The adverb もっと give a precision on the adverb 少し . すこし to qualify it.
Now let’s look at the adverbs of time which, usually placed at the beginning of sentences, specify how the action takes place in relation to time.
ずっと . Constantly
すぐ . At once, immediately
今すぐ . いますぐ . At once, immediately
白猫はずっと老人の側にいる。
しろねこはずっとろうじんのそばにいる。
The white cat is constantly at the side of the old man.
Here, we simply place the adverb of time ずっと at the beginning of the sentence before the noun it nuances.
We also have the adverbs of frequency which we also place at the beginning of the sentence and which indicate how often the action takes place.
時々 . ときどき . Sometimes, from time to time
よく . Often
何時も . いつも . Always
白石は時々リンゴジュースを飲む。
しらいしはときどきリンゴジュースをのむ。
Shiraishi drinks apple juice from time to time.
Here, we simply place the adverb of frequency 時々 . ときどき at the beginning of the sentence before the noun it nuances.
The adverbs of aspect, which we also place at the beginning of a sentence and which indicate the status of completion of the action.
もう . Already
終に . ついに . Finally, in the end
最後に . さいごに . Finally, in the end
未だ . まだ . Still
今日はもうバカンスだ。
きょうはもうバカンスだ。
Today are already the holidays.
The adverb もう is placed at the beginning of a sentence before the noun it nuances.
The adverbs of supposition, which we also place at the beginning of the sentence and which indicate the supposition of a thing possible or not, from which we can deduce the consequences.
多分 . タブン . Perhaps, maybe
確かに . たしかに . Certainly, indeed
必ず . かならず . For sure, without fail, surely
夜子は多分庭にいる。
やこはたぶんにわにいる。
Yako may be in the garden. / Yako is perhaps in the garden.
The adverb 多分 . タブン is placed at the beginning of a sentence before the noun it nuances.
Finally, the adverbs of judgment, which we also place at the beginning of the sentence and thanks to which we can give your opinion on the action.
勿論 . モチロン . Of course
本当に . ホントウに . Really, truly
やはり . As you might expect, as expected
相変わらず . あいかわらず . As always, as usual
琴音は勿論月に一度アップルパイを作る。
ことねはもちろんつきにいちどアップルパイをつくる。
Kotone of course cooks an apple pie once a month.
The adverb 勿論 . モチロン is placed at the beginning of the sentence before the noun it nuances.
This being done, we will now talk about adverbial particles. As their name suggests, they nuance the use of the names to which they are attached and are always placed after the name like all other particles.
In this course, we will see eight of them at once. So, don’t panic, these particles aren’t hard to learn, but for now, focus.
The adverbial particles だけ and のみ
The adverbial particle だけ expresses the uniqueness of something. The particle のみ, which is also an adverbial particle, translates exactly the same way but is more formal, more polite.
As an example, observe the sentence below. If we mean :
I only eat rice for breakfast.
In Japanese, we will translate :
朝食には私がご飯だけ食べる。
ちょうしょくにはわたしがごはんだけたべる。
I only eat rice for breakfast.
The adverbial particle しか
The adverbial particle しか expresses the idea of something unique. It is only used in negative sentences. It replaces the particle を and the particle が.
As an example, observe the sentence below. If we mean :
Pandas only eat bamboo.
In Japanese, we will translate :
パンダは竹しか食べない。
パンダはたけしかたべない。
Pandas only eat bamboo.
The adverbial particle ばかり
The adverbial particle ばかり emphasizes the uniqueness of the name but with a pejorative connotation. It is only used in negative sentences. It replaces the particle を and the particle が.
As an example, observe the sentence below. If we mean :
Mario just waits for Luigi all day.
In Japanese, we will translate :
マリオは一日中ルイージばかり待つ。
マリオはいちにちじゅうルイージばかりまつ。
Mario just waits for Luigi all day.
(Since we are using the adverbial particle ばかり, the speaker is implying that Mario might be doing other things of his day than waiting for Luigi.)
Adverbial particles くらい and ころ
With the adverbial particle くらい we can make an approximation over a period, to give an approximate quantity (how many people, how much money, how much of this...), to evaluate or to compare the quality / level of something to do an equality comparison.
The particle ころ makes it possible to make an approximation on a point fixed in time.
In terms of pronunciation, these two particles have a unique specificity: we will add a handakuten to them, exactly as we do in a combination of kanji where we add the handakuten on the first kana of the second kanji.
So, くらい is written and pronounced ぐらい and ころ is written and pronounced ごろ.
Please understand that this is not a rule but more something that has come into being over time since the sound [g] is easier to pronounce than the sound [k].
More and more Japanese say « gurai » and « goro » instead of « kurai » and « koro », so you have the choice between one or the other.
As an example, observe the sentence below. If we mean :
From home to school, it takes about 20 minutes.
In Japanese, we will translate :
家から学校まで二十分ぐらいだ。
うちからがっこうまでにじゅっぷんぐらいだ。
From my home to school, it takes about 20 minutes.
Now if we mean :
From the beach cafe to the music store, it takes roughly an hour and ten minutes by car.
In Japanese, we will translate :
ビーチカフェからミュージックストアまで車で一時間十分くらいだ。
ビーチカフェからミュージックストアまでくるまでいちじかんじゅぷんくらいだ。
From the beach cafe to the music store, it takes roughly an hour and ten minutes by car.
Now if we mean :
The sports class starts around 7 am.
In Japanese, we will translate :
スポーツクラスは午前7時ごろに始まる。
ビーチカフェからミュージックストアまでくるまでいちじかんじゅぷんごろにはじまる。
The sports class starts around 7 am.
The adverbial particle ほど
With the adverbial particle ほど, you can do a rough comparison.
As an example, observe the sentence below. If we mean :
It’s as big as an oak tree.
In Japanese, we will translate :
柏木ほどの大きさだ。
かしわぎほどのおおきさだ。
It’s as big as an oak tree.
The adverbial particles など and なんか
With the adverbial particle など, you can insist on a non-exhaustiveness. Remember we have already seen the particle や which expresses non-exhaustiveness, but the adverbial particle など will simply emphasize this idea more. The colloquial equivalent of など is なんか.
As an example, observe the sentence below. If we mean :
Anzai reads history books, detective novels, manga and comics among other things.
In Japanese, we will translate :
安西は歴史書や探偵小説や漫画やコミックなどを読む。
あんざいはれきししょやたんていしょうせつやまんがやコミックなどをよむ。
Anzai reads history books, detective novels, manga and comics among other things.
Now let’s see another example with なんか. The usage is exactly the same but reflects a more familiar register. If we mean :
Miho drinks orange juice, tea and milk among other things.
In Japanese, we will translate :
美帆はオレンジジュースやお茶や牛乳なんかを飲む。
みほはオレンジジュースやおちゃやぎゅうにゅうなんかをのむ。
Miho drinks orange juice, tea and milk among other things.
Here are a good number of novelties discussed in this course. Of course, there are many other adverbs and adverbial particles, but we’ll see them much later as we go. For now, that’s a lot of things to remember.
As said above, there are over a hundred courses available on the site covering the most common adverbs in the Japanese language, complete with detailed explanations and examples. Most of the example sentences are polite, negative, or past tense sentences, but it doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t understand everything, you can still focus on the explanations given at the beginning of each lesson and try to discover all these adverbs little by little.
Finally, concerning the adverbial particles だけ, のみ, しか and ばかり that we saw above, you will undoubtedly have noticed that these four adverbial particles have quite similar meanings but slightly nuanced according to what we want to express. Do not hesitate to practice making sentences with it.
As for the particles など and なんか which are used to express the non-exhaustiveness, the particle なんか is used to express the non-exhaustiveness in a familiar register while the particle など wants to be more polite. However, in English, the difference, very often, will not be noticeable in the translation of the sentence.
In the following courses, you will more and more often find sentences containing adverbs, sometimes new ones; and in season three or four, we’ll cover adjectives and how to turn those adjectives into adverbs. This is called adverbialization. A fascinating subject !
That’s it, this conclusion finally ends. Take your time to reread this lesson and remember all these new notions. And, as always, a vocabulary list awaits you below.
Come on ! To relieve you, the next course will be lighter, so keep moving on and good luck !
Before we leave, I would like to come back to one point with you. Observe the following sentence below that we saw at the start of this course :
咲夜と鈴香は『ガストン・ラガッフ』の漫画を沢山読む。
みほはオレンジジュースやおちゃやぎゅうにゅうたくさんよむ。
Sakuya and Suzuka read a lot of Gaston Lagaffe’s comics.
In this sentence, we have translated the word « comics » by 漫画 . マンガ. I’m sure that probably puzzled more than one and if you were one of those, you certainly thought that Gaston Lagaffe, it’s not a manga, it’s a Franco-Belgian comic. And you are absolutely right ! But you have to understand one thing that is actually a difference between English and Japanese when it comes to talking about comics.
In English, when we want to talk about Franco-Belgian or French or Spanish comics… we use the term « comic », a very English term. Ditto when we mean American comics. And when we mean Japanese comics, rather than saying « Japanese comic », we more often use the Japanese word « manga ». Ditto for South Korean comics, we say most often « manhwa ». So, in English, we took foreign words to integrate them into our language in order to better mark the distinction for the same thing according to the culture from which it comes.
But in Japanese, how is it done? What word do the Japanese use to refer to Western comics? Well, you saw it in the sentence they say « 漫画 . マンガ » because, for the Japanese, the word « 漫画 . マンガ » in the broadest sense means « comic ». We can however note that they gladly use the English term « コミックス » when they want to talk very specifically about American comics and the English word « ウェブコミック » (web comic) when they want to talk about comics whose distribution and reading are available exclusively on the web.
And to be sure that you have understood correctly, if I tell you :
アンドレ・フランカンは漫画家だ。
アンドレ・フランカンはまんがかだ。
If you translate this sentence to me as : André Franquin is a manga artist.
It’s wrong ! This is totally wrong! André Franquin has never drawn manga in his life, yet the sentence in Japanese is correct. It is absolutely correct because, in Japanese, the word « 漫画 . マンガ » means « comic » in the broad sense. But for English speakers, since you distinguish between American comics... on the one hand AND manga on the other hand, the correct translation will be :
André Franquin is a cartoonist. / André Franquin is a comics artist.
This is a good example which shows that one should never do a word-for-word translation. By the way, the word 漫画家 . マンガカ means « manga author » AND « cartoonist » in the broad sense.
磨く .
みがく . to polish, to brush, to clean (new verb)
棚 .
たな . the shelf
白猫 .
しろねこ . the white cat
老人 .
ロウジン . the elderly person
一日中 .
イチニチジュウ . all day, the whole day
学校 .
ガッコウ . the school
スポーツクラス . the sport class
柏木 .
かしわぎ . the oak tree
探偵小説 .
タンテイジョウセツ . the detective novel
Introduction