Japanese Grammar | How to Use Adverbs in Japanese
Today, we’ll teach you how to use adverbs in Japanese!
It’s an important building block for your Japanese learning journey, so bookmark this page to come back and review the topic.
Are you familiar with the difference between “she sang” and “she sang loudly?“
In the second one, an adverb is used to modify the verb and describe the action more precisely. Useful, right?
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the same thing in Japanese!
Adverbs are essential to improving your Japanese language proficiency.
In Japanese, an adverb is known as 副詞 (ふくし・fukushi).
Adverbs are kind of similar to adjectives as they both modify words.
However, adverbs modify 動詞 (どうし・dōshi) or verbs, 形容詞 (けいようし・keiyōshi) or adjectives, and other adverbs, while adjectives only modify 名詞 (めいし・meishi) or nouns.
Let’s first start from creating adverbs from adjectives.
Japanese Adverbs | Derived From い形容詞（i-keiyoushi）
Japanese Adverbs | Adverbs Related to Time
Japanese Adverbs | Derived From な形容詞 (na-keiyoushi)
Japanese Adverbs | Some Other Adverbs
Japanese Adverbs | FAQ’s
Japanese Adverbs Derived From い形容詞（i-keiyoushi）
As you already know, い (i) adjectives always end with い (i). So how to turn an い (i) adjective into an adverb?
Just change the final い (i) to く (ku), and you’re done!
The い (i)-adjective will turn into an adverb.
For example:
| Example | Hiragana | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 野菜を食べて強くなりました。 | やさいをたべてつよくなりました。 | Yasai o tabete tsuyoku narimashita. | I got stronger by eating vegetables. |
| 早く来てください。 | はやくきてください。 | Hayaku kite kudasai. | Please come fast. |
Japanese Adverbs Derived From な形容詞 (na-keiyoushi)
This is also very simple.
Just change the final な (na) to に (ni).
For example:
| Example | Hiragana | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 静かにしてください。 | しずかにしてください。 | Shizuka ni shite kudasai. | Please keep quiet./Please do it quietly. |
| 彼は上手に歌を歌いました。 | かれはじょうずにうたをうたいました。 | Kare wa jyouzu ni uta wo utaimashita. | He sang a song well. |
Japanese Adverbs Related to Time
You can carry out conversations more fluently by using time adverbs. Japanese adverbs of time include:
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 今すぐ | いますぐ | ima sugu | right now |
| 前 | まえ | mae | before |
| 後 | あと/ご | ato/go | after |
| ー | もうすぐ | mō sugu | soon |
| ー | ほとんど | hotondo | almost/nearly/mostly |
| 頃 | ころ/ごろ | koro/goro | around |
| 約 | やく | yaku | about |
| 現在 | げんざい | genzai | currently |
| その間に | そのあいだに | sono aida ni | meanwhile |
| 同時に | どうじに | dōji ni | at the same time |
| ー | いつでも | itsu demo | at any time |
| 間もなく・しばらく | まもなく・しばらく | mamonaku/shibaraku | in a while |
| 出来るだけ早く | できるだけはやく | dekirudake hayaku | as soon as possible |
| 長い間 | ながいあいだ | nagai aida | for a long time |
Here are more examples:
| Example | Hiragana | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 今すぐ来きてください。会議は15分後に始まります。 | いますぐきてください。かいぎは15ふんあとにはじまります。 | Ima sugu kite kudasai. Kaigi wa juu go-fun go ni hajimarimasu. | Please come right now. The meeting is starting in fifteen minutes. |
| 今は午前7時58分で、もうすぐ8時になります。まもなく電車が来ます。 | いまはごぜしちじんじごじゅはっぷんで、もうすぐ8じになります。まもなくでんしゃがきます。 | Ima wa gozen shichi-ji go-juu happun de, mou sugu hachi-ji ni narimasu. Mamonaku densha ga kimasu. | It is 7:58 a.m. and it’s going to be 8:00 soon. The train comes very soon. |
Some Other Adverbs
| Hiragana | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| 一生懸命（いっしょうけんめい） | isshoukenmei | very hard |
| なるべく | narubeku | as much as possible, if possible |
| ゆっくり | yukkuri | slowly |
| いちおう | ichiou | more or less, though not quite satisfactorily |
| のんびり | nonnbiri | quietly, leisurely |
| ようやく | youyaku | at last (for good things) |
| やっと | yatto | at last (for good things) |
| とうとう | toutou | finally (for good and bad things) |
| ついに | tsuini | finally (for good and bad things) |
| むしろ | mushiro | rather |
| ますます | masumasu | increasingly, more and more |
| だんだん | dandan | gradually, little by little |
| やはり・やっぱり | yahari/yappari | too, also, likewise still, as before even so, either way, in any event as expected after all |
| 次々に（つぎつぎに） | tsugitsugini | in succession |
Here are more examples:
| Example | Hiragana | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 日本語をゆっくり話します。 | にほんごをゆっくりはなします。 | Nihongo wo yukkuri hanashimasu. | I speak Japanese slowly. |
| やっと日本に来ました。 | やっとにほんにきました。 | Yatto nihon ni kimashita. | Finally came to Japan. |
Are you a Flexi Classes student already?
Learn more about Adverbs in Japanese in the following Flexi lessons:
Whose Umbrella Is This? (A1, Chapter 3)
Frequency (A1, Chapter 4)
I Watched A Movie (A1, Chapter 4)
Not a Flexi Student yet?
That was an introduction on how to use adverbs in Japanese. Of course we can go a lot deeper but this is a good start for your Japanese adverbs adventure.
You’ll certainly encounter many adverbs along your learning journey, so make sure to come back to this lesson any time you have a doubt on the structures and their usages.
Here are a few more important lessons to nail down:
- Japanese adjectives
- Japanese particles
- Japanese counters
- Hiragana alphabet
- Katakana alphabet
If you ever fancy some Japanese classes, don’t forget about our Flexi Classes!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is an adverb?
An adverb is a word used to modify the verb in a sentence and describe the action taking place more precisely.
How to use Japanese adverbs of time?
Adverbs of time modify a verb or adjective to talk about when an action is taking place (ex: できるだけ早く・as soon as possible, いますぐ・right now, まもなく・しばらく・in a while).
Check out the table in the article for more!
What other Japanese adverbs are there?
A variety exist, including
しずかに・slowly
のんびり・quietly
ついに・finally
Check out our article for the full list.
How do I make an adverb in Japanese?
With い (i) adjectives, change the い (i) to く (ku).
With な (na) adjectives, change the な (na) to に (ni).
Easy, right?
How many adverbs of time are there in Japanese?
Many!
We’ve included 14 of the most commonly used ones in this article, so make sure to memorize them!
Why should I learn about adverbs in Japanese?
They’ll make your Japanese sound much more natural and contribute greatly to your conversational fluency!