当然・当前|とうぜんtouzen[0]heiban (flat)
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Which spelling to use
当然当然 is the most common and standard form; it is the spelling learners should normally choose.
当前当前 is an ateji spelling and is rarely used, so learners will seldom encounter it and should use 当然 instead.
Definitions
- no-adjective, na-adjectivenatural; right; proper; just; reasonable; appropriate; deserved
- adverbnaturally; as a matter of course; rightly; deservedly; justly; of course
Conjugation
| Plain form | 当然（とうぜん） |
|---|---|
| Polite (desu) | 当然です（とうぜんです） |
| Negative (dewa nai) | 当然ではない（とうぜんではない） |
| polite (dewa arimasen) | 当然ではありません（とうぜんではありません） |
| Past (datta) | 当然だった（とうぜんだった） |
| Past negative (dewa nakatta) | 当然ではなかった（とうぜんではなかった） |
| Te form (de) | 当然で（とうぜんで） |
| Adverbial (ni) | 当然に（とうぜんに） |
| Conditional (nara) | 当然なら（とうぜんなら） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym自明じめいWrittenWritten/formal prose. Means self-evident or obvious without proof, as in 「自明の理」; 「当然」 stresses what is right or to be expected.
- Synonym無論むろんWrittenWritten/formal prose, used mostly as an adverb for of course or needless to say, as in 「無論のこと」; 「当然」 also works freely as a na-adjective.
- SynonymもちろんNeutralNeutral adverb and the most common way to say of course in speech; 「当然」 puts more weight on something being right or deserved.
- Related決まりきったきまりきったNeutralNeutral. Means fixed and unchanging, the same old formula, as in 「決まりきった答え」; 「当然」 stresses what is right or to be expected.
- Antonym不当ふとうNeutralNeutral antonym: contrasts with 「当然」 over whether something is right or proper; means unfair, unjust or improper.
- Antonym不自然ふしぜんNeutralNeutral antonym: contrasts with 「当然」 over whether something is natural; means unnatural, artificial or affected.
Use 「当然」 for what is right or expected, as in 「当然の結果」. In speech, 「もちろん」 is the everyday choice; 「無論」 is its written counterpart. 「自明」 covers the self-evident, 「決まりきった」 the hackneyed; antonyms are 「不当」 and 「不自然」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
