adverbial N5 common casualpolitewritten
あまり〜ない — not very ~
あまり〜ない ・ あまり
Builds on ない形
Meaning
- (not) very ~ / (not) much — paired with a negative to soften it to 'not particularly'
Key sentence
この映画はあまり面白くない。
This movie isn't very interesting.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| あまり + ...negative | あまり + [negative verb / adjective] | あまり食べない (don't eat much) |
Variants
あんまり — colloquial form, same meaning — see あんまり
Examples
お酒はあまり飲みません。
I don't drink much alcohol.
今日はあまり寒くない。
It's not very cold today.
彼のことはあまり知らない。
I don't know much about him.
When you can't use it
- In this meaning あまり needs a negative — あまり〜ない. With an affirmative it does not mean 'not very'; affirmative あまり(に) instead means 'excessively' (あまりに高い = too expensive).
Easily confused with
全然 Both pair with a negative. あまり〜ない = 'not very' (partial); 全然〜ない = 'not at all' (total). They differ by degree of negation. とても とても = 'very' (affirmative); あまり〜ない = 'not very' (negative). Polar partners on the same scale. あまり(に)〜 Without ない, あまり(に) flips to the affirmative 'so much / excessively' — a separate pattern (あまりの寒さに… = so cold that…). This page is only the あまり〜ない 'not very' use.
See あまり〜ない in real sentences
Jengo shows あまり〜ない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.