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JLPT N4Adverbs

あまり〜ない— Not very / Not much

Expresses that something is true only to a small degree. Always paired with a negative predicate. Softer than 全然〜ない (not at all).

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Pro lessonUNIT 6 · ADVERBS

Structure · 形

あまり + [negative verb / negative adjective]

Examples · 例文

  • 最近あまり運動していない。

    Saikin amari undou shite inai.

    I haven't been exercising much lately.

    あまり (not much) + 運動していない (not exercising).

  • この映画はあまり面白くなかった。

    Kono eiga wa amari omoshiroku nakatta.

    This movie wasn't very interesting.

    あまり + 面白くなかった (wasn't interesting).

  • あまり心配しないでください。

    Amari shinpai shinai de kudasai.

    Please don't worry too much.

    あまり + 心配しないでください (please don't worry).

Usage notes · 注意

  • Degree with negatives: 全然〜ない (not at all) > あまり〜ない (not very/much) > そんなに〜ない (not that much).
  • あまり needs a negative to mean 'not much'; alone it does not carry this meaning.
  • あまりに(も) + reason means 'so much so that...' (あまりに暑くて外に出られない).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones あまり〜ない is tested against.

vs全然〜ない

全然〜ない = completely/absolutely not; あまり〜ない = not very much (a milder, partial negation).

vsそんなに〜ない

そんなに〜ない = 'not THAT much' (relative to an expectation just mentioned); あまり〜ない is a general 'not much'.

vsあまりに(も)

In the positive あまりに means 'excessively / so...that', which is the opposite polarity from the negative あまり〜ない.

More adverbs

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