Learn Japanese
Japanese adverbs of degree
Low degree
| Kanji | Hiragana | Meaning | Example |
| ちょっと | a little, a bit | ちょっと疲れた (a bit tired) |
|
| 少し | すこし | a little (more formal than ちょっと) | 少し寒いです (It’s a little cold) |
| やや | somewhat, slightly (formal, written) | やや高い (somewhat expensive) |
|
| 多少 | たしょう | to some extent | 多少は理解できる (I can understand to some extent) |
Moderate degree
| Kanji | Hiragana | Meaning | Example |
| わりと / わりに | relatively, fairly | わりと簡単だ (It’s fairly easy) |
|
| 比較的 | ひかくてき | relatively (more formal) | 比較的安い (relatively cheap) |
| なかなか | quite, considerably (often positive/surprised nuance) | なかなか美味しい (it’s quite tasty) |
|
| けっこう | pretty, quite (casual) | けっこう難しい (it’s pretty hard) |
High degree
| Kanji | Hiragana | Meaning | Example |
| とても | very | とても嬉しい (very happy) |
|
| 非常に | ひじょうに | extremely (formal) | 非常に重要だ (extremely important) |
| すごく | really, super (casual) | すごく面白い (really interesting) |
|
| 本当に | ほんとうに | really, truly | 本当に大変だった (it was really tough) |
| かなり | quite a lot, considerably | かなり疲れている (quite tired) |
Extreme degree
| Kanji | Hiragana | Meaning | Example |
| 大変 | たいへん | very, greatly (formal) | 大変お世話になりました (I’m very grateful for your help) |
| 極めて | きわめて | extremely (very formal, written) | 極めて重要な問題 (an extremely important issue) |
| めちゃくちゃ / めっちゃ | super, insanely (very casual) | めっちゃ楽しい (super fun) |
|
| 死ぬほど | しぬほど | to death, extremely (slang) | 死ぬほど眠い (dead tired) |
Full/complete degree
| Kanji | Hiragana | Meaning | Example |
| 完全に | かんぜんに | completely | 完全に忘れた (I completely forgot) |
| すっかり | entirely, completely | すっかり変わった (completely changed) |
|
| 全然 | ぜんぜん | (not) at all — traditionally used with negatives, though casually now also used positively to mean “totally” | 全然わからない (I don’t understand at all) / 全然大丈夫 (totally fine, casual) |
Related Post:
Adjectives for JLPT N5
90 Common Japanese Adjectives
