How to say "originally" in Japanese

• もともとJLPT N2approx.Common
  adverb, no-adjectiveThe basic choice for 'originally' as 'from the start': how a plan, situation, or personal circumstance stood before it changed. When you simply mean 'at first', this is the word to reach for.
  彼かれらは元々もともとあった文明ぶんめいを破壊はかいした。↗

  They destroyed the native civilization.
• 本来ほんらいJLPT N2approx.Common
  adverb, no-adjectiveLeans toward 'primarily': the original purpose, role, or state of a thing rather than someone's past circumstances. Use it for what something is at its core or was meant to be.
  この詩しは本来ほんらいフランス語ふらんすごで書かかれていた。↗

  This poem was originally written in French.
• 元来がんらいJLPT N1approx.Common
  adverbCovers 'originally' mainly through its 'essentially; by nature' side: character or qualities a person or thing has from the start. For plain temporal 'originally', もともと is usually the better pick.
  元来がんらいフットボールとは、ポロのように馬うまに乗のって行おこなわれる競技きょうぎとは違ちがって、足あしで、ボールを使つかって行おこなわれる競技きょうぎのことでした。↗

  Football originally meant "a game played with a ball on foot" - unlike a game played on horseback, such as polo.
• そもそもCommon
  adverb, nounCenters on 'in the first place; to begin with': stepping back to the start of a matter, often to question a premise. Its 'originally' sense is 'from the start' in that same discussion-and-argument vein.
  そもそもなぜ鳥とりは移動いどうするのだろうか。↗

  Why do birds migrate in the first place?
• もとよりCommon
  adverbEmphasizes 'all along': something has been true continuously from the first, not just at the outset. For simply stating how things were at first, it is seldom the word you want — もともと is.
  もとより私は最悪さいあくの事態じたいを覚悟かくごしていた。↗

  From the outset I was prepared for the worst.

Choose 「もともと」 for the plain 'at first, from the start' sense; 本来 for what something is originally or primarily; 元来 for innate, by-nature character; 「そもそも」 for 'in the first place'; 「もとより」 for 'all along'.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• もともとoriginally
• 本来ほんらいoriginally
• 元来がんらいoriginally
• そもそもin the first place
• もとよりfrom the beginning
• 元はもとはoriginally
• 元からもとからoriginally
• 始めははじめはat first
• 元はと言えばもとはといえばwhen it comes to the cause
• 自体じたいoriginally
• 由来ゆらいoriginally
• 当初とうしょat first
• 元もとformerly
• 一体いったいstrictly speaking