Important ! I strongly recommend that you review the following course : adverbs and adverbial particles
Before tackling season three, I would like to come back to the adverbial particles. A few dozen lessons ago, I gave you a lesson on the subject, but what I did not tell you, it is that there are more adverbial particles than the ones I gave you to learn. For those of you who have taken the initiative to search for yourself, so much the better, you may recognize the new particles that I am about to introduce you. For others, don’t worry. Take this course, it is very easy.
Adverbial particles nuance the use of the nouns to which they are attached and are (almost) always placed after the noun like all other particles.
You already know eight of them. We will quickly revise these eight adverbial particles and study three new particles. I will reuse examples seen in the course indicated above and some new ones.
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.
For example :
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.
私達が最近はガストン・ラガフの漫画だけ読む。
わたしたちがさいきんはガストン・ラガフのまんがだけよむ。
We only read Gaston Lagaffe comics these days.
綾波家は果物や野菜を農家からだけ買います。
あやなみかはくだものややさいをのうかからだけかいます。
The Ayanami family buys fruits and vegetables exclusively from farmers.
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.
For example :
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.
蜂鳥は虫と花の蜜しか食べない。
ハチドリはむしとはなのみつしかたべない。
Hummingbirds only eat insects and flower nectar.
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.
For example :
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.)
白銀さんは肉ばかり食べます。
しろがねさんはにくばかりたべます。
Mister Shirogane only eats meat.
(Since we are using the adverbial particle ばかり, the speaker is implying that Mr. Shirogane could eat something other than meat.)
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, that is to say that 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.
Here are some examples that you know well :
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.
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.
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.
For example :
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.
For example :
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.
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.
Now that I have refreshed your memory, we can focus on four new adverbial particles: わずか, たった, だいたい and 約 . やく. By the way, the latter, as you can see, has a kanji form. The kanji form is still quite recurrent today. Don’t forget that other particles like の, から, まで also had a kanji form, which has now fallen into disuse.
The adverbial particle わずか
Before I begin, I would like to add a detail on the adverbial particles that you already know. The adverbial particles だけ, のみ, しか and ばかり are adverbial particles of restriction. Each has its own peculiarities of use and the adverbial particle わずか falls into this category. In its meaning, this particle has exactly the same meaning as だけ, however だけ is used after the noun and わずか is used before the noun.
I give you an example of a sentence in English that I will translate into Japanese, first with the adverbial particle だけ, then with the adverbial particle わずか.
Here is the sentence in English :
Link has fun exclusively with Marine and the kids on Koholint Island.
Now here are the sentences in Japanese :
リンクはコホリント島でマリンと子供達だけで遊ぶ。
リンクはコホリントしまでマリンとこどもたちだけであそぶ。
Link has fun exclusively with Marine and the kids on Koholint Island.
リンクはわずかコホリント島でマリンと子供達で遊ぶ。
リンクはわずかコホリントしまでマリンとこどもたちであそぶ。
Link has fun exclusively with Marine and the kids on Koholint Island.
It’s as simple as that. Let’s move on.
The adverbial particle たった
Just like the adverbial particles だけ, のみ, しか and ばかり, たった is a restriction adverbial particle and has the same meaning. The main difference is that たった is always placed before the noun. This adverbial particle is often found in sentences with a number and helps to emphasize that a number is small.
In all grammatically correct sentences, たった s followed by the particle の.
This particle is sometimes used in sentences with negative connotations but this is not systematic either.
I will give you three sentences as an example, first in English :
This toy only costs 736 yen.
Only 16% of teachers at this school are women.
Only two people will come to Yael’s birthday.
Now here are the three sentences in Japanese. Each sentence will be analyzed below :
この玩具の価格はたったの736円だ。
このおもちゃのかかくはたったの736えんだ。
This toy only costs 736 yen.
この学校の教師のたった16％が女性だ。
このがっこうのきょうしのたった16％がじょせいだ。
Only 16% of teachers at this school are women.
ヤエルの誕生日にはたったの二人が来る。
ヤエルのたんじょうびにはたったのふたりがくる。
Only two people will come to Yael’s birthday.
If I chose to give you these two sentences as an example, it is to illustrate a subtle nuance in the use of the adverbial particle たった. I told you above that this particle is sometimes used in sentences with negative connotations but that this is not systematic either.
So, in the first sentence, the fact that a toy only costs 736 yen will be perceived rather positively. On the other hand, in the second sentence which underlines an idea of inequality between men and women, the particle たった reinforces this idea of inequality. It gives the sentence a negative connotation. Finally, in the third sentence, there is also a negative connotation reinforced, once again, by the particle たった.
You will have noticed that in one sentence out of three, the particle の after たった is not present. This happens sometimes, both in spoken and written language, so do not be surprised.
The adverbial particles だいたい and 約. やく
Just as the adverbial particles だけ, のみ, しか, ばかり and わずか are adverbial particles of restriction, the adverbial particles くらい, ころ and ほど are adverbial particles of approximation. Each has its own peculiarities of use and the adverbial particles だいたい and 約 . やく fall into this category. In their meaning, these two particles have exactly the same meaning as the other adverbial particles of approximation. The only difference is that they come before the noun.
I give you an example of a sentence in French that I will translate into Japanese, first with the adverbial particles だいたい and 約 . やく, then with the adverbial particles ぐらい and ごろ.
Here is the sentence in English :
Totoro’s divine tree is about a five minute walk from the house.
Now here are the sentences in Japanese :
トトロの神木は家から徒歩5分ほどにある。
トトロのしんぼくはいえからとほ5ふんほどにある。
Totoro’s divine tree is about a five minutes’ walk from the house.
トトロの神木は家から徒歩だいたい5分にある。
トトロのしんぼくはいえからとほだいたい5ふんにある。
Totoro’s divine tree is about a five minutes’ walk from the house.
It’s as simple as that. Notice that in both sentences I didn’t put the particle で after 徒歩 . トホ even though it would have been grammatically correct. Simply the sentence is clear enough for one to understand the meaning, even without the particle で.
It would even have been possible to shorten the sentence even further by simply saying :
トトロの神木は家から徒歩5分ほどにある。
トトロの神木は家から徒歩だいたい5分にある。
The adverbial particle of approximation immediately assumes that the verb will necessarily be ある, verb of presence therefore particle に.
I hope now that you have understood correctly that the particles くらい, ころ, ほど, だいたい and 約 . やく are interchangeable.
Well, I’ll give you one more example. Here is the sentence in English :
The Nogizaka family’s confectionery shop is about a ten-minute drive away.
Now here are the sentences in Japanese :
乃木坂家の菓子屋は車で十分ごろにある。
のぎざかかのかしやはくるまでじゅうぷんごろにある。
The Nogizaka family’s confectionery shop is about a ten-minute drive away.
乃木坂家の菓子屋は車で約十分にある。
のぎざかかのかしやはくるまでやくじゅうぷんにある。
The Nogizaka family’s confectionery shop is about a ten-minute drive away.
And of course, it would even have been possible to shorten the sentence even more by simply saying :
乃木坂家の菓子屋は車で十分ごろにある。
乃木坂家の菓子屋は車で約十分にある。
You know the song. The adverbial particle of approximation immediately assumes that the verb will necessarily be ある, verb of presence therefore particle に.
It is high time to recap everything we have just seen in this course.
Adverbial particles of restriction
The adverbial particle だけ conveys the uniqueness of something. Same for the particle わずか. The particle のみ, which is also an adverbial particle, conveys exactly the same thing but is more formal, more polite. The adverbial particule たった is sometimes used in sentences with negative connotations.
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.
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.
The adverbial particles だけ, のみ, しか, ばかり and わずか are restriction adverbial particles. The adverbial particle わずか is used before the noun. All other particles are used after the noun.
Adverbial particles of approximation
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, that is to say that 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.
The adverbial particle ほど makes it possible to make an approximate comparison. Also synonymous with the previously mentioned particles.
The adverbial particles of approximation だいたい and 約 . やく come before the noun. All other particles are used after the noun.
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.
Before concluding, I have one last thing to discuss with you. There is another way to express approximation in Japanese, it is the word 平均 . ヘイキン. This word is not a particle. It translates as "the average; the balance". For example :
フランス人は毎年平均何キロのキノコを食べるか。
フランス人はまいとしへいきんなんキロのキノコをたべるか。
How many kilos of mushrooms do the French eat on average each year ?
Now if I want to express in an affirmative sentence an average with a number, here is how to do it :
毎年平均3,000万人の観光客がパリを訪れる。
まいとしへいきん3,000ばんにんのかんこうきゃくがパリをおとれる。
On average 30 million tourists visit Paris each year.
年初から毎月平均300万人の観光客がスペインを訪れる。
ねんしょからまいげつへいきん300万人のかんこうきゃくがスペインををおとれる。
On average 3 million tourists have visited Spain every month since the beginning of the year.
(In English, since we have the preposition “since”, the verb “to visit” is at the present perfect tense. But the Japanese sentence is in the present tense.)
Of course, in the previous two sentences, I can very well replace 平均 . ヘイキン by the adverbial particle だいたい or 約 . やく or even くらい / ぐらい or ころ / ごろ.
Let’s move on! One last thing before the conclusion. I’m going to teach you how to say « more than », « less than »... I’ll give you a few examples. See below :
More than one hour / One hour or more : 1時間以上
More than forty minutes / Forty minutes or more : 40分以上
More than fifteen years old / at least fifteen years old / fifteen years old or more : 15年以上
70,000 yen or more / at least 70,000 yen : 七万円以上
$3400 or more / at least $3400 : 3400ドル以上
100,000 yen or below / 100,000 yen maximum : 十万円以下
10 years or less / maximum 10 years : 十年以下
Less than two hours : 2時間未満
Less than thirty minutes : 30分未満
Under twenty : 20歳未満
Less than 300 yen : 三百円未満
Less than $55 : 55ドル未満
Up to five seconds, maximum five seconds, within six seconds : 五秒以内
Here, it is important that you make the difference between the adverbs 以下 . イカ, 未満 . ミマン and 以内 . イナイ.
If I say in Japanese 21以下, it means « less than or equal to 21 ». On the other hand, if I say 21未満, it means « under 21 » (« 21 » is not included). Finally, if I say 21以内, it means « up to 21 / maximum 21 »; there is an idea of a limit which must not be exceeded.
The adverb 以上 . イジョウ can be translated as « more than or equal to / at least ». Of course, it can also be simply translated as « more than » (there is no « or equal to »).
If you have a sentence in Japanese with the adverb 以上 . イジョウ, the context of the sentence will allow you to guess if the idea of equality is implied. To better illustrate my point, here are some examples below:
台所のテーブルにドッグフードが3袋以上ある。
だいどころのテーブルにドッグフードが3ふくろいじょうある。
There are more than three packets of dog food on the kitchen table.
(In the above sentence, it is obvious that there are more than three packets. There are not at least three packets, there are more than three. If the sentence was about an age limit or an amount of money that should not be exceeded, then we could have translated the idea of equality.)
5000円以上お持ちですか?
5000えんいじょうおもちですか?
Do you have at least 5000 yen on you ? / Do you have more than 5,000 yen on you ?
(The sentence relates to a sum of money; a person asks his interlocutor if he or she has at least 5000 yen if not more.)
君は地点Aから地点Bまで30分以内で走る。
きみはちてんAからちてんBまで30ぷんいないではしる。
You run from point A to point B in less than 30 minutes.
(In the sentence above, the subject must start from point A to get to point B in less than 30 minutes. There is an idea of a time limit which must not be exceeded.)
この仕事の収入は月に168,000円未満です。
このしごとのしゅうにゅうはつきに168,000えんみまんです。
This job earns me less than 168,000 yen per month. / The monthly income for this job is less than 168,000 yen.
(In the sentence above, we use 未満 because the monthly income mentioned in the sentence is less than 168,000 yen, so 168,000 is not included.)
Well, I’ll quickly recap what we just saw :
以下 . イカ . maximum, at most, more than, below
以上 . イジョウ . minimum, at least, less than, above
未満 . ミマン . menys que
以内 . イナイ . maximum, at most, up to, within
Finally, remember that there are other synonymous adverbs like 少なくとも . すくなくとも, synonym of 以上 . イジョウ and that you already know.
As I told you several lessons ago, there are many other adverbs and adverbial particles. This course was intended to deepen the subject and I think I will not return to it.
Don’t forget that there are more than a hundred sheets available on the site concerning the most common adverbs of the Japanese language, complete with detailed explanations and examples. Feel free to check it out even if you’re supposed to have done so already.
As usual, you have exercises to do. You will not find all the adverbial particles you already know, nor necessarily the four new adverbial particles seen in this course. There will be some adverbs and grammatical forms but keep in mind that you may find the new adverbial particles in the other exercises to come.
Finally, I give you the new vocabulary below.
Good luck!
蜂鳥 .
ハチドリ
. the hummingbird (most often written in katakana)
花の蜜 .
はなのみつ
. the nectar (can also be written 花蜜 . カみつ)
Introduction