Adverbs in Japanese works like English do – they modify verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs.
Forming Adverbs from Adjectives
In English, we formed adverbs by attaching the suffix -ly to the adjectives. Similarly, the Japanese also do the same modification as well.
–い (-i) Adjectives
For –い (-i) adjectives, all you need to do is as simple as substituting the -い (-i) with -く (-ku).
早い → 早く
hayai → hayaku
fast (adjective) → fast (adverb)
時間が早く過ぎる。
Jikan ga hayaku sugiru.
Time passes quickly.
–な (-na) Adjectives
For –な (-na) adjectives, simply attach -に (-ni) at the end of the adjectives.
静か → 静かに
shizuka → shizuka ni
quiet → quietly
彼は静かに歩きました。
Kare wa shizuka ni arukimashita.
He walked quietly.
Exceptions:
いい → よく
Ī → yoku
good → well
[よく (yoku) can also mean often – adverb of frequency]
かっこいい → かっこよく
kakkoī → kakkoyoku
cool → coolly
In fact, not all adverbs are derived from adjectives. These true adverbs are regularly used in sentences, so you should pay more attention to them.
Read: Chinese Characters of Japanese and Chinese Are Not All The Same!
Adverbs of Degree
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| ゆっくり | yukkuri | slowly |
| とても | totemo | very |
| あまり | amari | not very (used with negative verbs/adjectives only) |
| 沢山 | takusan | a lot |
| 少し | sukoshi | a little |
| 段々 | dandan | gradually |
| もう | mō | already |
| まだ | mada | yet |
Examples:
ゆっくり話してください。
Yukkuri hanashite kudasai
Please speak slowly.
それをあまり信じないで。
Sore o amari shinjinaide.
Do not believe it too much.
[Note that あまり (amari) is followed by negative verbs, which marked by ない (nai)].
Adverbs of Time
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| 今日 | kyō | today |
| 明日 | ashita | tomorrow |
| 昨日 | kinō | yesterday |
| 今 | ima | now |
| 今朝 | kesa | this morning |
| 今夜 | konya | tonight |
| 最近 | saikin | recently |
| 後で | atode | later |
Examples:
明日は忙しいです。
Ashita wa isogashīdesu.
I will be busy tomorrow.
最近雨が多いです。
Saikin ame ga ōidesu.
It has been raining a lot recently.
Adverbs of Place
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| ここ | koko | here |
| そこ | soko | there |
| あそこ | asoko | over there |
| どこでも | doko demo | anywhere, wherever |
| どこか | doko ka | somewhere, anywhere |
Examples:
私は昨日そこへ行きました。
Watashi wa kinō soko e ikimashita.
I went there yesterday.
どこでも好きなところに駐車してください。
Doko demo sukina tokoro ni chūsha shite kudasai.
Park wherever you like.
Adverbs of Frequency
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| いつも | itsumo | always |
| よく | yoku | often |
| 通常 | tsūjō | usually |
| 時々 | tokidoki | sometimes |
| たまに | tama ni | occasionally |
| めったに | metta ni | seldom |
| まれに | mare ni | rarely |
| 決して | kesshite | never |
| 毎日 | mai nichi | everyday |
Examples:
時々料理を作ります。
Tokidoki ryōri o tsukurimasu.
I cook sometimes.
決してあきらめません。
Kesshite akiramemasen.
I will never give up.
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