Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 13/18

余(あま)り～ないNot very, Not much, Not really, Hardly

Structure

あまり(1) + Verb［ない］
あまり(1) + ［い］Adjective［ない］
あまり(1) + Noun + ではない(2)
あまり + ［な］Adjective + ではない(2)

(1) あんまり
(2) じゃない

Details

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About あまり～ない

あまり is a very flexible word in Japanese, that is used in several different grammar points. When paired with the ない form of a word, it translates to 'not very (A)', or 'hardly (A)'. To pair あまり (or the casual form, あんまり) with another word, we just need to place it at the beginning of a phrase, or directly before the ない statement.

Fun Fact

Although あまり～ない is regularly translated as 'not very' the literal translation is closer to 'not excessively (A)'. This is due to 余(あま)り (the kanji which this word comes from), meaning 'excessive', or 'to be in excess'.

あまり has this meaning of 'excessive' in all of its grammar points, and the nuance will only change based on whether the sentence itself is positive (does not use ない), or negative (uses ない).

Examples

--:--

    このケーキはあまり美味(おい)しくない。

    This cake isn't very delicious.

    あまり肉(にく)を食(た)べない。

    I don't eat very much meat.

    あまり大変(たいへん)なことではないから、心配(しんぱい)いらないよ。

    It is not really a big deal, so you don't have to worry. (isn't that)

    寿司(すし)をあまり食(た)べたいと思(おも)わない。

    I don't really think I want to eat sushi.

    この漢字(かんじ)の意味(いみ)があまり分(わ)かりません。

    I don't really understand the meaning of this kanji.

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あまり～ない – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (15 in total)

  • driscoll

    driscoll

    I’m a bit confused as to where the あまりgoes + the negative good. The one with “This car isn’t that great”
    is あまり いい車くるまではない

    But why isn’t it この車はあまりよくない like the example for “This cake isn’t very delicious.”

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey there @driscoll !

    あまり comes right before adjectives, verbs, and nouns. あまりいい車くるまではない, and この車はあまりよくない may seem similar, but it has a slight (very slight) difference in nuance, but it is just mostly a difference in how the sentence was ordered. It similar to saying ‘this car isn’t that great’ and ‘this isn’t a great car’. The nuance of those sentences change a little depending on the context, but other than word order, the meaning is basically the same.

    We hope that help!

  • Salatrel

    Salatrel

    Hello everyone!

    For the usage with the な-adjective and the noun, is there also a polite form, like

    あまりきれいではありません。?

    Thank you for your help in advance!

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