やや

• 読み: やや
• ローマ字: yaya
• 発音: /ja.ja/

意味

Slightly; somewhat; a little. Indicates a small degree or marginal amount.

An adverb used to soften or moderate a description. More formal and measured than ちょっと or 少し. Commonly appears in news, reports, and written Japanese: やや高い (slightly expensive), やや遅れる (somewhat delayed). Often used when being precise about small differences or changes.

例文

1. 今日の気温は昨日よりやや高い。
2. 彼の態度はやや冷たく感じた。
3. 売り上げはやや減少傾向にある。

使い方ガイド

場面: news, reports, analysis

トーン: measured

起源と歴史

From the classical Japanese adverb やや, an ancient native word with no kanji origin. The kanji 稍 is rarely used in modern writing. The word has maintained its meaning of 'slightly' for over a thousand years.

文化的背景

時代: Ancient

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal