How to say "terribly" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 大変たいへんadverbCovers 'terribly' in its plain intensifying sense, 'very; awfully': a terribly long meeting, terribly sorry. It also doubles as an adjective meaning 'awful' or 'a great deal of trouble'.
- adverbUse it for 'terribly' in the sense 'badly; severely': terribly hurt, terribly worried. The degree it marks is unwelcome or severe, so it adds a negative coloring that a plain 'very' would not.
- adverb (with と)Covers 'terribly' only in its softened sense, 'quite; awfully': 'it took terribly long'. The degree is noticeably more than expected, and unlike ひどく it does not present things as bad.
- adverbFor 'terribly' this is seldom the word you want: its force is 'exceedingly; greatly', and 大変 or ひどく will normally serve better. Keep it for contexts where you truly want that heightened 'exceedingly'.
- 実にじつにadverbIts core sense is 'really; truly; indeed': it affirms that something genuinely is the case, as in 'truly remarkable'. For 'terribly' it is only a marginal match; use it where English would say 'truly'.
Use 大変 for the plain intensifier 'very, awfully', 「ひどく」 when the degree is bad or severe, 「ずいぶん」 for a softer 'quite, more than expected', while 「たいそう」 and 「実に」 are only marginal matches for 'terribly'.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- 大変たいへんvery
- ひどくterribly
- ずいぶんvery
- たいそうvery
- 実にじつにreally
- 何ともなんともreally
- いやにawfully
- くそみそseverely (criticize, run down, etc.)
- すごくextremely
- みそくそseverely (criticize, run down, etc.)
- すっごくextremely
- えらくawfully
- めっぽうextraordinarily
- 超がつくちょうがつくextremely
- さんざseverely
- 超のつくちょうのつくextremely
- 近頃ちかごろterribly
- 散々さんざんseverely
- 猛烈もうれつvery
- しきりにhard
- いかにもvery
- どうにもterribly
- さんざっぱらseverely
- しきりとhard
- さんざんぱらseverely
See also
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