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).
Structure
あまり + [negative verb / negative adjective]
Examples
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).
• 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
- ばかり — Nothing but / Only
- きっと — Surely / Certainly / I'm sure
- 急に (きゅうに) — Suddenly / All of a sudden
- そんなに — That much / To that extent
- 全然 (ぜんぜん) — Absolutely not / Not at all / (casual: totally)
- たとえば — For example / For instance
- とうとう — Finally / At last / In the end
- まず — First / First of all / To begin with
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