Japanese Grammar 16 – Adverbs & Degree Words · N5

📋 Formation Reference — Adverbs & Degree Words

Common N5 adverbs for degree, frequency, and status. Press ▶ to hear examples.

DEGREE ADVERBS

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning	Polarity
とても / すごく	totemo / sugoku	very	Positive
かなり	kanari	fairly / quite	Positive
ちょっと / すこし	chotto / sukoshi	a little	Positive
あまり (＋ neg)	amari	not very	Negative
ぜんぜん (＋ neg)	zenzen	not at all	Negative

FREQUENCY ADVERBS (high → low)

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning	Frequency
いつも	itsumo	always	100%
よく	yoku	often	~80%
たいてい	taitei	usually	~70%
ときどき	tokidoki	sometimes	~40%
あまり (＋ neg)	amari	not often	~20%
ぜんぜん (＋ neg)	zenzen	never	0%

STATUS ADVERBS

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
もう	mou	already / (not) anymore
まだ	mada	still / not yet
もういちど	mou ichido	one more time
まだまだ	madamada	still a long way to go

[あまり / ぜんぜん] [VERB / ADJ] ません / じゃないです

amari / zenzen [verb/adj] masen / ja nai desu

→ あまり / ぜんぜん MUST be followed by a negative verb or adjective.

🗣 Example Sentences

See how adverbs work in context. Press ▶ to hear each sentence.

DEGREE ADVERBS

Example

にほんごはとてもおもしろいです。

Nihongo wa totemo omoshiroi desu.

Japanese is very interesting.

にほんごはとてもおもしろいです

nihongo wa totemo omoshiroi desu

→ "Japanese is [very] interesting." — adverb goes before the adjective.

Example

ちょっとつかれました。

Chotto tsukaremashita.

I'm a little tired.

NEGATIVE ADVERBS — あまり & ぜんぜん

Example

さかなはあまりすきじゃないです。

Sakana wa amari suki ja nai desu.

I don't really like fish.

あまり [NEGATIVE]

amari suki ja nai desu

→ "not really / not very" — negative verb/adjective required.

Example

おさけはぜんぜんのみません。

Osake wa zenzen nomimasen.

I don't drink alcohol at all.

FREQUENCY ADVERBS

Example

いつもはちじにおきます。

Itsumo hachiji ni okimasu.

I always wake up at 8.

Example

ときどきえいがをみます。

Tokidoki eiga wo mimasu.

I sometimes watch movies.

STATUS ADVERBS — もう & まだ

Example

もうしゅくだいをしましたか。

Mou shukudai wo shimashita ka.

Have you already done your homework?

もう [POSITIVE VERB]

mou shimashita ka

→ もう + positive = "already"

Example

まだたべていません。

Mada tabete imasen.

I haven't eaten yet.

📋 Quick-Reference Cheatsheet ▼

あまり / ぜんぜん require a negative

✅ CORRECT

ぜんぜんわかりません。

Zenzen wakarimasen.

I don't understand at all.

ぜんぜん pairs with the negative verb わかりません.

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

ぜんぜんわかります。

Zenzen wakarimasu.

(Intended: "I totally understand.")

ぜんぜん cannot precede a positive verb. Use とても instead.

もう — "already" vs "not anymore"

もう＋ POSITIVE

もうたべました。

Mou tabemashita.

I already ate.

もう + past positive = "already done".

もう＋ NEGATIVE

もうたべません。

Mou tabemasen.

I won't eat anymore.

もう + negative = "not anymore".

まだ — "still" vs "not yet"

まだ＋ POSITIVE

まだがくせいです。

Mada gakusei desu.

I'm still a student.

まだ + positive = "still (continuing)".

まだ＋ NEGATIVE

まだたべていません。

Mada tabete imasen.

I haven't eaten yet.

まだ + negative = "not yet".

Frequency order: high → low

✅ SCALE

いつも > よく > たいてい > ときどき > あまり〜ない > ぜんぜん〜ない

itsumo > yoku > taitei > tokidoki > amari~nai > zenzen~nai

always → often → usually → sometimes → not often → never

Memorise this scale — it comes up in N5 listening questions.

💡 REGISTER NOTE

とても vs すごく

totemo vs sugoku

Both mean "very".

とても is neutral/polite. すごく is slightly casual — avoid in formal writing.

Making adverbs from adjectives

い-ADJECTIVE → く

はやい → はやく

hayai → hayaku

fast → quickly

Drop い, add く to form the adverb.

な-ADJECTIVE → に

しずかな → しずかに

shizuka na → shizuka ni

quiet → quietly

Drop な, add に to form the adverb.

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

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1 / 10

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

📖 Grammar Deep Dive ▼

Adverb Placement

Adverbs in Japanese go directly before the word they modify.
  • Before an adjective: とてもおおきい (very big)
  • Before a verb: はやくはしります (run quickly)
  • They do NOT change form — they are always invariable.

[ADVERB] [ADJECTIVE / VERB]

totemo omoshiroi desu

→ Adverb always precedes the word it modifies.

かなりむずかしいです。

Kanari muzukashii desu.

It's quite difficult.

もう / まだ — Question & Answer Patterns

もう and まだ have mirror answer patterns:
• もうたべましたか → はい、もうたべました。/ いいえ、まだです。
• まだねていますか → はい、まだねています。/ いいえ、もうおきました。
The short answer いいえ、まだです is very natural and common.

もうしゅくだいをしましたか。— いいえ、まだです。

Mou shukudai wo shimashita ka. — Iie, mada desu.

Have you done your homework yet? — Not yet.

ぜんぜん in Casual Positive Use

In standard grammar, ぜんぜん requires a negative. However, in casual modern Japanese it is increasingly used with positive verbs:
• ぜんぜんいいよ！ — "It's totally fine!"
This usage is non-standard. Avoid it in formal writing or N5 test answers. Stick to ぜんぜん＋ negative for study purposes.

ぜんぜんもんだいないです。

Zenzen mondai nai desu.

There's absolutely no problem. (standard negative usage)

Making Adverbs from Adjectives

Japanese adjectives can be converted into adverbs with a simple rule:
• い-adjective: replace い with く → はやい → はやく (quickly)
• な-adjective: replace な with に → しずかな → しずかに (quietly)
These adverbs behave just like standalone adverbs — they go before the verb they modify.

[い-adj stem] く / [な-adj stem] に

hayai → hayaku / shizuka → shizuka ni

→ い → く | な → に

もっとはやくはなしてください。

Motto hayaku hanashite kudasai.

Please speak more quickly.

📝 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	English
とても	totemo	very
すこし	sukoshi	a little
あまり	amari	not very / not often (+ neg)
ぜんぜん	zenzen	not at all / never (+ neg)
いつも	itsumo	always
よく	yoku	often
ときどき	tokidoki	sometimes
もう	mou	already / not anymore
まだ	mada	still / not yet
たいてい	taitei	usually