adverbial N5 essential casualpolitewritten
とても — very (affirmative)
とても
Meaning
① very: very / extremely ~ — a high degree
② not possibly: (cannot) possibly ~ / by no means — paired with a negative potential
Key sentence
① very
この本はとても面白い。
This book is very interesting.
② not possibly
こんなにたくさん、とても食べられない。
This much — there's no way I can eat it all.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective / adverb / potential verb | とても + adjective/adverb ('very'); とても + negative potential ('not possibly') |
Examples
① very
今日はとても寒い。
It's very cold today.
彼はとても親切だ。
He is very kind.
② not possibly
今日中にはとても終わらない。
There's no way this gets finished today.
とても信じられない話だ。
It's an utterly unbelievable story.
When you can't use it
- With a negative, とても flips to 'cannot possibly' — so とてもおいしくない reads as 'by no means tasty,' not 'not very tasty.' For 'not very,' use あまり〜ない. very
Easily confused with
See とても in real sentences
Jengo shows とても 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 Intermediate Japanese Grammar.