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How to say 'Not at all' in Japanese | 全然

Wondering how to say 'Not at all' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Not at all is 'Zenzen', written as 全然 in Japanese.'Not at all' in hiragana is ぜんぜん.

    word

    全然

    Meaning

    Not at all

    Reading

    ぜんぜん

    zenzen

    Kanji

    全Whole, All 然Sort of thing, In that case

    Explanation

    The Japanese adverb '全然 (ぜんぜん)' is commonly used to express 'not at all' or 'entirely not'. It is often used in negative sentences to emphasize the complete absence or negation of something. For example: I don't understand at all「全然わからない」(ぜんぜんわからない). This is not interesting at all「これは全然面白くない」(これはぜんぜんおもしろくない). It can also be used in casual speech to mean 'completely' or 'totally' in positive contexts, though this usage is more informal. For example: I'm completely fine「全然平気だよ」(ぜんぜんへいきだよ).

    Part Of Speech

    adverb

    Kanji JLPT

    N3

    Kanji Grade

    4

    Frequency

    1817

    Composition

    kanji

    Handwriting

Kanji in the Word 全然

This word contains 2 kanji characters:

  • kanji

    全

    Meaning

    Whole, All

  • kanji

    然

    Meaning

    Sort of thing, In that case

Words Related to 全然 Through the Kanji 全

These 18 Words contain the Kanji 全 as well.

  • word

    全部

    Meaning

    All

  • word

    全く

    Meaning

    Completely

  • word

    全体

    Meaning

    Whole

  • word

    安全

    Meaning

    Safe

  • word

    完全

    Meaning

    Complete

  • word

    全国

    Meaning

    Nationwide

  • word

    全

    Meaning

    All

  • word

    全員

    Meaning

    Everyone

  • word

    全て

    Meaning

    All

  • word

    全身

    Meaning

    Whole body

  • word

    全速力

    Meaning

    Full speed

  • word

    全面

    Meaning

    Entirety

  • word

    健全

    Meaning

    Sound, Healthy

  • word

    保全

    Meaning

    Preservation, Conservation

  • word

    全力

    Meaning

    Full power

  • word

    全面的

    Meaning

    Comprehensive

  • word

    不完全

    Meaning

    Incomplete

  • word

    全般

    Meaning

    Overall

Words Related to 全然 Through the Kanji 然

These 14 Words contain the Kanji 然 as well.

  • word

    然し

    Meaning

    But

  • word

    然も

    Meaning

    Moreover

  • word

    当然

    Meaning

    Natural, Obvious

  • word

    突然

    Meaning

    Suddenly

  • word

    自然

    Meaning

    Natural, Nature

  • word

    自然に

    Meaning

    Naturally

  • word

    自然科学

    Meaning

    Natural science

  • word

    天然

    Meaning

    Nature

  • word

    必然

    Meaning

    Inevitability

  • word

    偶然

    Meaning

    Coincidence

  • word

    然り

    Meaning

    Correct

  • word

    依然

    Meaning

    Still, Unchanged

  • word

    然程

    Meaning

    Not very

  • word

    不自然

    Meaning

    Unnatural

Learn the Word 全然

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What does 'Zenzen' (全然) mean?

'Zenzen' means 'Not at all' .

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