Japanese Adverbs: Fukushi, Forms, and a Working List

Do you know the adverbs of the Japanese language? They are called fukushi, written 副詞. A fukushi does not conjugate. It modifies a verb, an i-adjective, a na-adjective, or another adverb. In たくさん食べる, the adverb たくさん (takusan, a lot) sits before the verb 食べる (taberu, to eat).

School grammars usually sort fukushi into three groups. Manner adverbs, 様態副詞 or 情態副詞, say how an action unfolds, as in ゆっくり歩く. Degree adverbs, 程度副詞, set the amount, as in とても寒い. Statement adverbs, 陳述副詞, line up with the ending and show how the speaker takes the sentence, as when きっと calls for だろう.

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Japanese Adverbs by Category

Time and frequency

今 (ima) means now. まだ (mada) means still when the situation has not changed, as in まだ食べている, and not yet when the verb is negative, as in まだ食べていない. もう (mō) means already when the change has happened, as in もう食べた, and no longer when the verb is negative, as in もう食べない. The same もう also means one more, as in もう一度 (mō ichido).

いつ (itsu) asks when. Dictionaries list it as a pronoun, and the everyday question is when. The word for soon is もうすぐ (mō sugu). 今日 (kyō), 昨日 (kinō) and 明日 (ashita) are the nouns for today, yesterday and tomorrow. You meet them in the same slot as a time adverb, often with は, and they stay nouns.

• いつも (itsumo): always
• よく (yoku): often, and also well
• 時々 (tokidoki): sometimes
• 何度も (nando mo): many times, over and over

Place phrases

下に (shita ni), 上に (ue ni), そばに (soba ni), 前に (mae ni) and 後ろに (ushiro ni) are nouns plus the particle に. They locate something: under, on top of, beside, in front of, behind. The television sentence further down uses 前に in that way.

Manner

• ゆっくり (yukkuri): slowly, without rushing
• しっかり (shikkari): firmly, properly
• こっそり (kossori): secretly
• どんなに (donna ni): how much; before ても, no matter how

擬音語 and 擬態語 sit in this group when they describe the action. キラキラ光る uses the katakana mimic word キラキラ for the way something shines. しばしば and 時々, further down, repeat an ordinary word. Learners mix the two because both double a sound.

Degree and quantity

• とても (totemo): very
• 大変 (taihen): extremely; as a noun, a serious matter
• たくさん (takusan): a lot
• 十分 (jūbun): enough. The same characters have another reading when they mean ten minutes.
• 少し (sukoshi): a little
• ちょっと (chotto): a little, or for a moment
• もっと (motto): more
• いくら (ikura): how much
• かなり (kanari): quite, considerably

よく belongs here too when it means well, and with the frequency list when it means often. The adverb form of いい is よく. 何 (nani) asks what, and it is a pronoun. だけ (dake) is the particle for only.

Other words you will meet

どうして (dōshite) is the adverb for why, and dictionaries also list how, in what way. どこか (dokoka) means somewhere. また (mata), also written 又, means again or also. 例えば (tatoeba) means for example.

おおきに (ōkini), written 大きに, is the Kansai thank-you, shortened from おおきにありがとう. You still hear it in shops around Osaka. For very, in front of a verb or an adjective, the degree words are とても and 大変.

How to Use Adverbs in Japanese

A fukushi normally stands before the verb or adjective it refers to. たくさん食べる is the pattern: the amount comes first, then the action. The same order shows up in these four sentences.

• 私はテレビをテーブルの前に置く。 Watashi wa terebi o tēburu no mae ni oku. I put the TV in front of the table.
• 私はゆっくり歩きます。 Watashi wa yukkuri arukimasu. I walk slowly.
• ちょっと待ってください。 Chotto matte kudasai. Please wait a moment.
• 彼は静かに勉強します。 Kare wa shizuka ni benkyō shimasu. He studies quietly.

ちょっと待ってください uses ちょっと for a moment, as in "wait a second." 静かに is the adverb of the na-adjective 静か.

From adjectives: く and に

English often adds -ly, so quick becomes quickly. Japanese changes the ending, and the change depends on the adjective class. For an i-adjective, replace the final い with く. 新しい (atarashii) becomes 新しく (atarashiku). 強い (tsuyoi) becomes 強く (tsuyoku). For a na-adjective, add に to the stem. The な is what you use before a noun, so it drops out of the adverb: 簡単な (kantan na) becomes 簡単に (kantan ni), and 便利な (benri na) becomes 便利に (benri ni).

新しく and 強く are the conjunctive form of the adjective. Teacher descriptions often keep that form outside the fukushi class and still call the job adverbial, 副詞的修飾, because the word modifies the verb the way ゆっくり does. The page on Japanese i-adjectives goes through the i-adjective endings, including いい.

Now you can practice transforming all the adjectives you know into adverbs in Japanese.

With the suffix 的に

Some nouns take 的 (teki) and then に. 具体 (gutai, concrete) becomes 具体的に (gutaiteki ni, specifically).

質問の内容が具体的に伝わるように書いてください。 Shitsumon no naiyō ga gutaiteki ni tsutawaru yō ni kaite kudasai. Please write so that the content of the question comes across in concrete terms.

Verbs in the Te-form

Some verbs, in the te-form, modify the next verb the way an adverb does. 喜ぶ (yorokobu, to be glad) gives 喜んで (yorokonde, gladly). That te-form is another adverbial modifier, the same kind of job as 急いで行く.

• 喜ぶ becomes 喜んで. Yorokobu becomes yorokonde.
• 喜んで行きます。 Yorokonde ikimasu. I will gladly go.
• 喜んでお手伝いしますよ。 Yorokonde otetsudai shimasu yo. I will gladly help.

Adverbs Made by Repeating a Word

しばしば (shibashiba) means often, many times.

彼はしばしば恋に落ちる。 Kare wa shibashiba koi ni ochiru. He often falls in love.

データはしばしば不正確だ。 Dēta wa shibashiba fuseikaku da. The data is often inaccurate.

いちいち (ichiichi) means one by one, every single thing.

彼の言うことはいちいち頭に来る。 Kare no iu koto wa ichiichi atama ni kuru. Every single thing he says gets on my nerves.

時々 (tokidoki) means sometimes. For often, the closer words are しばしば and よく.

時々テレビを見る。 Tokidoki terebi o miru. I watch TV sometimes.

彼は時々希望を失う。 Kare wa tokidoki kibō o ushinau. He sometimes loses hope.

The character 々 repeats the same kanji, so 時々 is 時 written twice. The second reading voices: tokidoki, in the same way 人々 is hitobito. It is as if the writing were 時時, with that voicing on the second kanji.

やっぱり, まさか, 流石に, とにかく

Four common adverbs spread across more than one English word.

やっぱり (yappari) is the colloquial form of やはり (yahari). It means just as I thought, after all, or even so. See the example. I knew he was gay.

彼はやっぱりゲイですね。 Kare wa yappari gei desu ne.

まさか (masaka) lines up with disbelief: don't tell me, no way, you must be joking. As far as I can tell, this adverb has a somewhat negative connotation. See the example. Don't tell me Chris is a criminal?

まさか犯人はクリス？ Masaka hannin wa Kurisu?

流石に (sasuga ni) means as you would expect. Some approximate translations of this adverb are "as should be expected" and "indeed."

流石に彼は速く走る。 Sasuga ni kare wa hayaku hashiru. As you would expect, he runs fast.

とにかく (tonikaku) means anyway, or in any case.

とにかく家へ帰る。 Tonikaku ie e kaeru. I am going home anyway.

A Working List of Japanese Adverbs

Japanese	Reading	English
今	ima	now
まだ	mada	still; not yet
もう	mō	already; no longer; one more
いつも	itsumo	always
よく	yoku	often; well
時々	tokidoki	sometimes
何度も	nando mo	many times
ゆっくり	yukkuri	slowly
しっかり	shikkari	firmly
こっそり	kossori	secretly
とても	totemo	very
大変	taihen	extremely
たくさん	takusan	a lot
少し	sukoshi	a little
ちょっと	chotto	a little; for a moment
もっと	motto	more
かなり	kanari	quite
きっと	kitto	surely
まさか	masaka	don't tell me; no way
やっぱり	yappari	as I thought; after all
とにかく	tonikaku	anyway
流石に	sasuga ni	as you would expect
どうして	dōshite	why; how
例えば	tatoeba	for example
また	mata	again; also

For practice, put a manner word or a degree word immediately before the verb or adjective it modifies. 新しい becomes 新しく, and 簡単な becomes 簡単に. 何 and 誰 are pronouns, and と is a particle. とにかく家へ帰る.