adverbial N2 common casualpolitewritten

一応 — more or less / just in case

一応・いちおう

Meaning

more or less / just in case / for now — done to a basic degree or as a precaution, without full commitment

Signals that something is done minimally, nominally, or as a precaution — 'technically / at a basic level,' often hedging how complete or certain it is.

Key sentence

一応いちおう、確認かくにんしておきます。

I'll check, just to be sure.

Examples

一応いちおう大学だいがくは出でているが、専門せんもんではない。

I did graduate from university, more or less, but it's not my specialty.

一応いちおう傘かさを持もっていこう。

Let's take an umbrella, just in case.

Easily confused with

とりあえず一応 = a baseline or just-in-case measure, hedging completeness; とりあえず = a first step taken before fuller action.

See 一応 in real sentences

Jengo shows 一応 the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.

← Back to the grammar tree