In today's article we will study the quantity expressions, they are used as adverbial phrases. If you still don't know what we're talking about, we refer to the expressions: a lot, a little, many, not a lot, rarely, etc.
The word order is usually [noun + particle + quantity + verb]. When used to modify adjectives, they come before the adjective, for example: とても熱い(Totemo atsui – Very hot).
See below for the most commonly used expressions of quantities:
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plenty たくさん | many, so much |
totem とても | very |
kanari かなり | considerably |
zuibun ずいぶん | extremely |
yoku よく | often / frequently |
a little 少し | a little |
chotto ちょっと | a little (less formal than "sukoshi".) |
love あまり | (not) a lot, (not) so much, rarely (used in the negative) |
zenzen 全然 | not at all (used in the negative) |
Phrases expressing quantity in Japanese
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Hon o takusan yomimasu. 本をたくさん読みます. | I read a lot of books. |
Totemo oishii desu. とてもおいしいです. | It is very delicious. |
Time is quite tight, isn't it? 時間がかなりかかるでしょう. | It will take considerable time. |
Nihongo o sukoshi hanashimasu. 日本語を少し話します. | I speak a little Japanese. |
Igirisu no jamu wa totemo oishīdesu. イギリスのジャムはとてもおいしいです。 | UK jelly is very tasty. |
I can play the piano a little bit. ピアノをちょっと弾くことができます. | I know how to play a little piano. |
Igirisu no jamu wa amari oishiku arimasen. イギリスのジャムはあまりおいしくありません. | UK jelly is not very tasty. |
Amari chigai ga arimasen. あまり違いがありません. | There isn't much difference. |
Zenzen yokunakatta desu. 全然良くなかったです. | He wasn't good at everything. |
I hope this little lesson has helped you to learn a little more about quantity expressions. Decorating and using these expressions are easy, and with time you get used to it.
As an exercise, leave us comments on some example sentences that you are able to assemble using these expressions.