全然 (ぜんぜん) — Absolutely not / Not at all / (casual: totally)
Traditionally used with negative predicates meaning "not at all." In modern casual usage, increasingly used with positives meaning "totally."
Structure
全然 + [Negative predicate] | 全然 + [Positive] (casual)
Examples
全然知らなかった。
Zenzen shiranakatta.
I had no idea at all.
全然 + 知らなかった (negative past) = not at all
その映画、全然面白くない。
Sono eiga, zenzen omoshiroku nai.
That movie is not interesting at all.
全然 + 面白くない (not interesting)
今週は忙しくて、全然休めませんでした。
Konshuu wa isogashikute, zenzen yasumemasen deshita.
This week I was so busy I couldn't rest at all.
全然 + 休めませんでした (negative potential) = couldn't rest at all
• Traditional: 全然〜ない (not at all). • Casual/modern: 全然いい (totally fine), 全然大丈夫 (absolutely okay) — positive usage is common among young speakers but still non-standard in formal contexts. • Degree: 全然〜ない > あまり〜ない (not very much).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones 全然 is tested against.
vs あまり〜ない
全然〜ない = 'not at all' (total negation); あまり〜ない = 'not very / not much' (partial negation, weaker).
vs ちっとも〜ない
ちっとも〜ない is a near-synonym of 全然〜ない ('not in the least') but is more emphatic/colloquial and used only with negatives, never with positives.
More adverbs
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