Adverbs & Feelings

Introduction

Intermediate adverbs and emotional expressions add colour and feeling to your Japanese. From expressing surprise to resignation, these patterns capture the emotional undertones of communication.

They help bridge the gap between technically correct and naturally expressive Japanese.

Themes

All Japanese Grammar Intermediate in This Chapter (11)

1. さすが (as expected) さすが An adverb expressing the speaker's admiration or acknowledgment that something lives up to a high reputation or expectation. It conveys '...
2. まさか (no way / surely not) まさか An adverb expressing the speaker's strong disbelief that something could happen or be true. It conveys 'no way,' 'surely not,' or 'I neve...
3. どうも (somehow / it seems) どうも An adverb indicating that the speaker cannot make a definite statement but senses something based on indirect evidence or intuition. It c...
4. どうせ (anyway / no matter what) どうせ An adverb expressing the speaker's resigned feeling that no matter what happens or what effort is made, the result will be the same — usu...
5. せめて (at least) せめて An adverb indicating the speaker's minimally acceptable or satisfactory level when the ideal outcome is not achievable. It conveys 'at le...
6. かえって (on the contrary) かえって An adverb indicating that contrary to what was expected, the opposite result occurred. It conveys 'on the contrary,' 'instead,' or 'rathe...
7. やっと (finally / at last) やっと An adverb indicating that something desirable has finally been achieved after a long wait, sustained effort, or difficulty. It conveys 'f...
8. とうとう (in the end / finally) とうとう An adverb expressing the eventual arrival of an expected situation after a prolonged process. It conveys 'in the end,' 'finally,' or 'eve...
9. なかなか (quite / not easily) なかなか An adverb with two main uses: with affirmative predicates it means 'quite' or 'considerably' (expressing that something is more impressiv...
10. 結構 (quite / unexpectedly) けっこう An adverb indicating that something exceeds the speaker's or hearer's expectations, meaning 'quite,' 'rather,' or 'surprisingly.' It conv...
11. 必ずしも (not necessarily) かならずしも An adverb used with negative predicates to indicate that a proposition is not always or necessarily true. It conveys 'not necessarily,' '...