You ran to the store.

Wait, let’s try that again.

You ran to the unusually empty store quite frantically as the zombies chased you tenaciously.

To really light a fire under your language, you’ll need adverbs.

In Japanese, adverbs come in a variety of classifications, and they have different uses and positions within sentences.

The guide below will show you how to form and use Japanese adverbs so you’ll be able to throw them around like a native speaker!

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How to Derive Japanese Adverbs from Adjectives

Adverbs are words that serve to modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Let’s look at an example sentence:

The fox ran quickly.
キツネは速く走りました。 (きつねは はやく はしりました。)

In this case, the adverb quickly modifies the verb ran, informing us of how the fox ran. Additionally, both in English and Japanese, the adverb quickly, or 速く, is derived from the adjective quick, or 速い.

We can convert many adjectives into adverbs by adding “-ly” to the end in English; Japanese has a similar modification mechanism that we’ll delve into.

As you may recall, Japanese adjectives come in two types: -い and -な. If this doesn’t sound familiar or is a bit hazy, check out this guide to Japanese adjectives and this rundown of essential adjectives.

In both cases, the change from adjective to adverb is quite simple.

-い Adjective Transformation

For -い adjectives, simply replace the -い with -く. Done.

速い (はやい) — quick becomes 速く (はやく) — quickly.

彼女は速い。 (かのじょは はやい。) — She is fast.

彼女は速く食べません。 (かのじょは はやく たべません。) — She does not eat quickly.

かわいい — cute changes to かわいく — cutely.

犬はかわいい。 (いぬは かわいい。) — The dog is cute.

赤ちゃん達はかわいく笑います。 (あかちゃんたちは かわいく わらいます。) — Babies laugh cutely.

-な Adjective Transformation

As for -な adjectives, instead of adding -な as the connective tissue, use -に instead. Double done.

静かな (しずかな) — quiet turns into 静かに (しずかに) — quietly.

ここは静かな部屋です。 (ここは しずかな へやです。) — This is a quiet room.

彼は静かに眠りませんでした。 (かれは しずかに ねむりませんでした。) — He did not sleep quietly.

熱心な (ねっしんな) — enthusiastic becomes 熱心に (ねっしんに) — enthusiastically.

ナマケモノは熱心じゃない。 (なまけものは ねっしん じゃない。) — The sloth is not enthusiastic.

私は熱心に勉強しました。 (わたしは ねっしんに べんきょうしました。) — I studied enthusiastically.

Different Classes of Japanese Adverbs

Adverbs fall under a number of classifications. Knowing which adverbs fall into which class isn’t terribly important, but you do want to avoid doubling up on some since it can come out sounding nonsensical (like if an English speaker were to say “very a little”). Just be sure it makes sense when translating.

One exception is descriptive-style adverbs, which can be used in conjunction since they’re typically modifying adjectives or verbs (“he awkwardly, haltingly danced”) rather than other adverbs.

Adverbs of Degree

These adverbs express to what degree an action is performed or an adjective instantiated.

かなり — fairly, quite

熊はかなり大きいです。 (くまは かなり おおきい です。) — The bear is quite large.

全然 (ぜんぜん) — not at all (only used with negatives)

全然泳ぎません。 (ぜんぜん およぎません。) — I don’t swim at all.

とても — very

彼女はとても素晴らしい。 (かのじょは とてもすばらしい。) — She is very beautiful.

Adverbs of Place

These answer the question of where an action takes place.

ここ — here

ここにボールを投げろ。 (ここに ぼーるをなげろ。) — Throw the ball here.

どこでも — everywhere

世界のどこでも行ってみたい。 (せかいの どこでも いってみたい。) — I want to go everywhere in the world.

Adverbs of Time

Adverbs for when something happens and its duration.

昨日 (きのう) — yesterday

昨日、猫は死にました。 (きのう、ねこは しにました。) — The cat passed away yesterday.

今 (いま) — now

今、行きましょう。 (いま、いきましょう。) — Let’s go now.

Adverbs of Frequency

How often does the action take place or is the adjective manifested?

いつも — always

いつも遅れる。 (いつも おくれる。) — I’m always late.

よく — often

よくビールを飲みます。 (よく びーるをのみます。) — I often drink beer.

時々 (ときどき) — sometimes

彼女は電車で時々歌います。 (かのじょは でんしゃで ときどき うたいます。) — She sings on the train sometimes.

毎日 (まいにち) — every day

彼は毎日シャワーを浴びます。(かれは まいにち しゃわーをあびます。) — He showers every day.

Adverbs of Manner

Answers how the action is performed.

強く (つよく) — strongly

風が強く吹く。 (かぜが つよく ふく。) — The wind blows strongly.

弱く (よわく) — weakly

雨が弱く降る。 (あめが よわく ふる。) — The rain falls weakly.

楽しく (たのしく) — joyfully

私達は日本語を楽しく学びます。 (わたしたちは にほんごをたのしく まなびます。) — We learn Japanese joyfully.

Adverbs that Don’t Come From Adjectives

Not all adverbs are derived from adjectives. In fact, some of the most important ones are adverbs through and through.

沢山 (たくさん) — a lot

もう, すでに — already

もっと — more

本当に (ほんとうに) — really

多分 (たぶん) — probably

あなたは本当にパーティーに行きますか？ (あなたは ほんとうに ぱーてぃーに いきますか？) — Are you really going to the party?

多分。 (たぶん。) — Probably.

あまり — not very (only used with negatives)

野菜はあまり好きじゃない。 (やさいは あまり すきじゃない。) — I don’t like vegetables very much.

ゆっくり — slowly

ゆっくり話してください。 (ゆっくり はなして ください。) — Please speak slowly.

ちょっと — a little

ちょっと待って。 (ちょっと まって。) — Wait a moment.

These are common adverbs, so it’s worth getting familiar with them!

You can also learn more of them in context with FluentU, which teaches you adverbs and other essential vocabulary through Japanese native videos. Each clip has interactive subtitles with grammar explanations, plus quizzes and a flashcard review system. 

Now let’s pin down how to form sentences with adverbs.

Japanese Sentence Structure with Adverbs

When modifying verbs, the adverb can be placed almost anywhere in the sentence so long as it comes before the verb:

彼は急いで病院へ走って行きました。 (かれは いそいで びょういんへ はしっていきました。) — He ran to the hospital quickly.

彼は病院へ急いで走って行きました。 (かれは びょういんへ いそいで はしっていきました。) — He quickly ran to the hospital.

The closer the adverb is placed to the verb, the more emphasis it’s given.

If the adverb is modifying an adjective or another adverb, simply place the adverb directly in front of what it’s modifying: 

沖縄の夏は大変暑いです。 (おきなわの なつは たいへん あついです。) — Okinawa’s summers are terribly hot.

もうちょっとゆっくり食べなさい。 (もうちょっと ゆっくり たべなさい。) — Eat a bit more slowly.

 

There you have it, everything you need to know about the underpinning structures of Japanese adverbs.

And with that knowledge you can now take just about any adjective you can think of (most of which we didn’t cover here), turn it into an adverb and place it properly in a sentence fully aware of the emphasis it’ll convey. That’s the power of grammar.

As for the non-adjective related adverbs, you’ll just have to pick those up along the way when studying vocabulary, but you’ll still know how to use them when you do!

Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)