It’s impossible to explain something in detail without using adverbs. These are words which can efficiently express time, frequency, place, manner, degree, and more. When you want to boost your language skills, learning adverbs is important and inevitable.

Just like those in other languages, there are a variety of Japanese adverbs and they’re frequently used in sentences. Japanese adverbs are quite similar to English adverbs, though there are some differences to keep in mind. For example, Japanese adverbs are classified in categories according to their characteristics, and they’re placed in different positions in a sentence depending on how they’re used. But don’t worry! The rules are quite simple, and you’ll get the hang of them over time! 

In this article, JapanesePod101.com will provide you with:

• A Japanese adverbs list containing 100 useful Japanese adverbs
• Explanations of how to use Japanese adverbs
• Examples of Japanese adverbs in sentences

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

1. The Adverb in Japanese: An Introduction
2. Japanese Adverbs List
3. How Do You Use Adverbs in Japanese Sentences?
4. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

When you learn Japanese adverbs, your conversation will be colorful and rich in expression.

1. The Adverb in Japanese: An Introduction

1 – What is the Function of Japanese Adverbs?

An adverb, or 副詞 (fukushi), is not an independent class of word, as it’s always used with other words. Adverbs are similar to adjectives in that they both modify words. However, adverbs modify verbs, or 動詞 (dōshi), adjectives, or 形容詞 (keiyōshi), and other adverbs, while adjectives only modify nouns, called 名詞 (meishi).

Japanese adverbs, unlike those in English, can appear anywhere in a sentence when they’re used before verbs. 

2 – The Classifications and Types of Japanese Adverbs 

1. Derived from Adjectives

Most adverbs are linked to adjectives that share similar meanings. By changing a part of an adjective, we can turn it into an adverb. You can also see this rule applied in English. For example: “first” / “kind” / “happy” (Adjectives)  >>> “firstly” / “kindly” / “happily” (Adverbs).

In most cases, it’s easy to change Japanese adjectives to adverbs. There are two types of conjugations here.

• Modification of Japanese い (i) Adjectives

An い (i) adjective always ends with い (i).

By changing the final い (i) to く (ku), an adjective will turn into an adverb.

Example:

い (i) Adjective [ Stem + い (i) ]	Adverb [ Stem + く(ku) ]
悲しい kanashii   “sad”	悲しく kanashiku   “sadly”
高い takai   “high”	高く takaku   “highly”
丸い marui  “round”	丸く maruku  “roundly”

• Modification of Japanese な (na) Adjectives

A な (na) adjective always ends with な (na) when it comes before a noun.

Changing な (na) to に (ni) will convert a な (na) adjective into an adverb.

Example:

Adjective [ Stem + な (na) ]	Adverb [ Stem + に (ni) ]
親切な shinsetsu na  “kind”	親切に shinsetsu ni    “kindly”
静かな shizuka na   “quiet”	静かに shizuka ni   “quietly”
簡単な kantan na    “easy”	簡単に kantan ni   “easily”

For more information about Japanese adjectives, please visit 50 Most Common Adjectives.

• Other Non-Adjectival Adverbs

There are also Japanese adverbs which are not related to adjectives. Such adverbs do not have a particular pattern to identify them with, so you have to remember each vocabulary term. The good thing is that they’re used in the same way as other adverbs.

Non-adjectival adverbs are often seen among adverbs of frequency, time, and place, which we’ll explain in the following sections.

2. Classification of Japanese Adverbs

Japanese adverbs are classified into different categories, including Time, Frequency, Place, Manner, and Degree. Although it’s not so important to know which adverbs belong to what category, it is useful if you know them for more accurate usage.

Now let’s see various Japanese adverbs from each category! 

Chirashizushi wa kantan ni tsukuremasu. = “You can make Chirashizushi easily.”

簡単に (Kantan ni) is an adverb.

2. Japanese Adverbs List

1 – Japanese Adverbs of Time

Japanese time adverbs indicate when something happens, has happened, or will happen.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
1	“today”	kyō	今日	きょう
2	“yesterday”	kinō	昨日	きのう
3	“tomorrow”	ashita	明日	あした
4	“this morning”	kesa	今朝	けさ
5	“tonight”	kon’ya	今夜	こんや
6	“now”	ima	今	いま
7	“later”	ato de	後で	あとで
8	“soon”	sugu ni	ー	すぐに
9	“right now”	ima sugu ni	今すぐに	いますぐに
10	“previously”	mae ni	前に	まえに
11	“recently”	saikin	最近	さいきん
12	“someday”	itsuka	ー	いつか
13	“yet”	mada	ー	まだ

2 – Japanese Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency are used when describing how often an action takes place.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
14	“always”	itsumo	ー	いつも
15	“sometimes”	tokidoki	時々	ときどき
16	“often”	yoku	ー	よく
17	“rarely”	tama ni	ー	たまに
18	“seldom”	metta ni	ー	めったに *used only with negative forms
19	“probably”	tabun	多分	たぶん
20	“likely”	osoraku	ー	おそらく
21	“normally”	tsūjō	通常	つうじょう
22	“(not) at all”	zenzen (-nai) *	全然 (ーない) *	ぜんぜん(ーない) *
23	“never”	kesshite  (-nai) *	決して (ーない) *	けっして(ーない) *
24	“definitely,” “inevitably”	kanarazu	必ず	かならず
25	“daily,” “every day”	mainichi	毎日	まいにち
26	“weekly,” “every week”	maishū	毎週	まいしゅう
27	“monthly,” “every month”	maitsuki	毎月	まいつき
28	“annually,” “every year”	maitoshi	毎年	まいとし
29	“every time”	maikai	毎回	まいかい

* 全然 (ーない) [zenzen (-nai)]  and 決して (ーない) [kesshite (-nai)] are the negative forms which are usually used together with -ない (-nai).

For example:

• 私は全然気にしない。
  Watashi wa zenzen ki ni shinai.　 
  “I don’t care at all.”

• 彼女は決して肉を食べない。
  Kanojo wa kesshite niku o tabenai. 
  “She never eats meat.”

Kanojo wa kesshite niku o tabenai. = “She never eats meat.”

決して (kesshite), meaning “never,” is an adverb.

3 – Japanese Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place indicate where an action takes place.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
30	“here”	koko	ー	ここ
31	“there”	soko	ー	そこ
32	“there,” “over there”	asoko	ー	あそこ
33	“over here,” “this way”	kotchi	ー	こっち
34	“over there,” “that way”	atchi	ー	あっち
35	“somewhere”	doko ka	ー	どこか
36	“anywhere”	doko demo	ー	どこでも
37	“inside”	naka de	中で	なかで
38	“outside”	soto de	外で	そとで
39	“away”	hanarete	離れて	はなれて
40	“near,” “close by”	chikaku ni	近くに	ちかくに
41	“(at) home”	ie de	家で	いえで

Watashi no kaisha chikaku ni Tōkyō Tawā ga arimasu. 

= “There is Tokyo Tower close to my company.”   

近くに (chikaku ni), meaning “close,” is an adverb.

4 – Japanese Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of manner describe the condition of a thing or how an action is performed. Adverbs which are related to adjectives mostly fall in this category. Keep in mind that some Japanese adverbs don’t have direct translations in English.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
42	“slowly”	yukkuri	ー	はやく
43	“fast”	hayaku	早く/速く	すばやく
44	“quickly”	subayaku	素早く	おそく
45	“late,” “tardily”	osoku	遅く
46	“quietly”	shizuka ni	静かに	しずかに
47	“enjoyably,” “merrily”	tanoshiku	楽しく	たのしく
48	“interestingly,” “amusingly”	omoshiroku	面白く	おもしろく
49	“noisily,” “loudly”	urusaku	ー	うるさく
50	“simultaneously,” “at the same time”	ichi-do ni	一度に	いちどに
51	“easily”	kantan ni	簡単に	かんたんに
52	“well”	yoku	良く	よく
53	“badly”	waruku	悪く	わるく
54	“together”	issho ni	一緒に	いっしょに
55	“alone”	hitori de	一人で	ひとりで
56	“by chance,” “accidentally”	gūzen ni	偶然に	ぐうぜんに
57	“suddenly”	kyū ni	急に	きゅうに
58	“largely,” “greatly”	ōkiku	大きく	おおきく
59	“small”	chiisaku	小さく	ちいさく
60	“newly”	atarashiku	新しく	あたらしく
61	“old”	furuku	古く	ふるく
62	“beautifully,” “neatly,” “cleanly”	kirei ni	綺麗に	きれいに
63	“dirtily”	kitanaku	汚く	きたなく
64	“kindly”	shinsetsu ni	親切に	しんせつに
65	“cheerily,” “lively”	genki ni	元気に	げんきに
66	“conveniently”	benri ni	便利に	べんりに
67	“hotly”	astuku	暑く	あつく
68	“coldly”	samuku	寒く	さむく
69	“difficultly”	muzukashiku	難しく	むずかしく
70	“gently”	yasashiku	優しく	やさしく
71	“highly,” “high,” “expensive”	takaku	高く	たかく
72	“low”	hikuku	低く	ひくく
73	“cheaply,” “inexpensively”	yasuku	安く	やすく
74	“getting along well with”	nakayoku	仲良く	なかよく
75	“boring”	tsumaranaku	ー	つまらなく
76	“brightly”	akaruku	明るく	あかるく
77	“dark,” “darkly”	kuraku	暗く	くらく
78	“hard,” “fastly,” “firmly”	kataku	硬く・固く	かたく
79	“softly”	yawarakaku	柔らかく	やわらかく
80	“red”*	akaku*	赤く	あかく
81	“white”*	shiroku*	白く	しろく
82	“blue”*	aoku*	青く	あおく
83	“yellow”*	kiiroku*	黄色く	きいろく
84	“brown”*	chairoku*	茶色く	ちゃいろく
85	“black”*	kuroku*	黒く	くろく

*There are adverbs for colors in Japanese, but there are no equivalent words in English for adverbs of color.

In Japanese, these color adverbs are transformed from い (i) adjectives.

• 赤い  (akai)  >> 赤く (akaku)
• 白い (shiroi) >> 白く (shiroku)
• 黒い (kuroi)  >> 黒く (kuroku)

Here’s an example:

私は髪を黒く染めた。
Watasih wa kami o kuroku someta.　
“I dyed my hair black.”

Hitori de konsāto e itta. = “I went to the concert alone.”

一人で (hitori de), “meaning alone,” is an adverb.

5 – Japanese Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of degree indicate the degree or extent of a thing, situation, or action.

	Meaning	Reading	Kanji	Hiragana
86	“very”	totemo	ー	とても
87	“quite”	kanari	ー	かなり
88	“pretty,” “way”	sōtō ni	相当に	そうとうに
89	“terribly”	hidoku	酷く	ひどく
90	“plenty,” “much,” “many”	takusan	沢山	たくさん
91	“slightly,” “barely,” “only”	wazukani	僅かに	わずかに
92	“largely,” “nearly,” “mostly”	hotondo	ー	ほとんど
93	“about,” “roughly,” “more or less”	hobo	ー	ほぼ
94	“a little,” “a bit,” “a few”	sukoshi	少し	すこし
95	“truly,” “really”	hontō ni	本当に	ほんとうに
96	“strongly”	tsuyoku	強く	つよく
97	“weakly”	yowaku	弱く	よわく
98	“much,” “greatly,” “highly”	daibu	大分	だいぶ
99	“mostly”	daitai	大体	だいたい
100	“just,” “right,” “precisely,” “exactly”	chōdo	丁度	ちょうど

Watashi wa kazoku ga totemo daisuki desu. = “I like my family very much.” 

とても (totemo), meaning “very,” is an adverb.

3. How Do You Use Adverbs in Japanese Sentences?

In terms of Japanese adverb placement, most of them can appear anywhere in a sentence, but they should come before the verb.

Let’s take a look at some examples of Japanese adverbs in sentences.

• 私は後で宿題をする。
  Watashi wa ato de shukudai o suru.  
  “I will do my homework later.”

後で (ato de), meaning “later,” is an adverb. In Japanese, this can also be placed at the front of the sentence or in front of the verb する (suru), meaning “to do.” 

•  時々彼は参拝に行きます。
  Tokidoki kare wa sanpai ni ikimasu.  
  “He sometimes goes to visit a shrine.”

時々 (tokidoki) is an adverb, and it can also appear in front of 参拝に (sanpai ni), meaning “to visit a shrine,” or in front of 行きます (ikimasu), meaning “goes.”

• 近くに本屋はありますか。
  Chikaku ni hon’ya wa arimasu ka. 　
  “Is there a bookstore nearby?” 

近くに (chikaku ni), meaning “nearby,” is an adverb. It can be placed in front of ありますか (arimasu ka), meaning “is there.”

• 台風は素早く過ぎ去った。
  Taifū wa subayaku sugisatta. 
  “The typhoon passed by quickly.”

素早く (subayaku), meaning “quickly,” is an adverb, and it can also appear at the front of the sentence.

• 本当に彼を信じますか。
  Hontō ni kare o shinjimasu ka.  
  “Do you really believe him?”

本当に (hontō ni), meaning “really,” is an adverb. It can also be put in front of 信じます (shinjimasu), meaning “believe.”

4. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can Help You Learn More Japanese

In this article, we introduced you to Japanese adverbs. There are many adverbs in the Japanese language, and they’re just as rich in expression as adjectives. However, if you already know a lot of Japanese adjectives, then don’t worry! You can easily learn many adjective-transformed adverbs! Or vice-versa; once you learn Japanese adverbs, you can also learn the adjectives much easier. 

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and other useful Japanese phrases for any situation, you’ll find much more helpful content on JapanesePod101.com. We provide a variety of free lessons for you to improve your Japanese language skills. For example, you may find these lessons with audio recordings useful: 50 Most Common Nouns, 50 Most Common Verbs, and Most Common Adjectives.

 To learn more about Japanese adverbs and adjectives, check out Must-Know Adverbs and Phrases for Connecting Thoughts and Spring Adjectives/Adverbs. How to Improve Your Speaking Skills and Top 10 Conversational Phrases are also useful pages you can visit to brush up on your Japanese conversational skills.

And there’s so much more. Learn Japanese faster and enjoy studying the language at JapanesePod101.com!

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are any Japanese adverbs you still want to know! We’d be glad to help, and look forward to hearing from you!