Japanese Grammar Guide: あまり～ない (Amari ~ nai)

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Japanese Grammar Guide: あまり～ない (Amari ~ nai)
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

Not very, not much, not really.

🎯 Primary Function

An adverb used with a negative predicate to soften a denial or describe a low degree/frequency.

📋 Grammar Structure

あまり + [Verb ない-form] / [Verb ません]
あまり + [I-Adj stem] + くない / くありません / くなかったです
あまり + [Na-Adj] + ではない / じゃない / ではありません
Must always be used with a negative ending (Verb-nai, Adj-kunai, etc.)

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Used with ~masen or ~dewa arimasen to be polite but clear.

😊 Informal Situations

Used with ~nai or ~janai in daily conversation with friends.

✍️ Written Language

Standard usage in essays and reports to describe moderate levels.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Often shortened to ‘amari’ or sometimes ‘anmari’ in casual speech.

💡 Common Applications

Expressing Frequency
Used to indicate that an action does not happen frequently.
Example: あまり行きません (I don’t go very often).
Expressing Degree
Used to indicate that a state or quality is low in intensity.
Example: あまり寒くない (It’s not very cold).
Expressing Quantity
Used to indicate that the amount of something is small.
Example: あまり食べません (I don’t eat much).
📊
Frequency
Very High
🎚️
Difficulty
JLPT N4/N5
Tag:

Related Kanji

JLPT N4 Kanji List

Related Vocabulary

JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
Example Sentences
Example #1
私はコーヒーをあまり飲みません。
Furigana: わたしはコーヒーをあまりのみません。
Romaji: Watashi wa kōhī o amari nomimasen.
English: I don’t drink coffee very much.
Example #2
この映画はあまり面白くないです。
Furigana: このえいがはあまりおもしろくないです。
Romaji: Kono eiga wa amari omoshirokunai desu.
English: This movie is not very interesting.
Example #3
テストはあまり難しくなかったです。
Furigana: テストはあまりむずかしくなかったです。
Romaji: Tesuto wa amari muzukashikunatta desu.
English: The test was not very difficult.
Example #4
彼はあまり勉強しません。
Furigana: かれはあまりべんきょうしません。
Romaji: Kare wa amari benkyō shimasen.
English: He doesn’t study much.
Example #5
私の部屋はあまりきれいではありません。
Furigana: わたしのへやはあまりきれいではありません。
Romaji: Watashi no heya wa amari kirei dewa arimasen.
English: My room is not very clean.
Example #6
バスはあまり来ません。
Furigana: バスはあまりきません。
Romaji: Basu wa amari kimasen.
English: The bus doesn’t come very often.
Example #7
昨日はあまり寒くなかったです。
Furigana: きのうはあまりさむくなかったです。
Romaji: Kinō wa amari samukunakatta desu.
English: It wasn’t very cold yesterday.
Example #8
お金があまりありません。
Furigana: おかねがあまりありません。
Romaji: Okane ga amari arimasen.
English: I don’t have much money.
Example #9
私はスポーツがあまり得意じゃありません。
Furigana: わたしはスポーツがあまりとくいじゃありません。
Romaji: Watashi wa supōtsu ga amari tokui ja arimasen.
English: I am not very good at sports.
Example #10
あの店はあまり有名じゃありません。
Furigana: あのみせはあまりゆうめいじゃありません。
Romaji: Ano mise wa amari yūmei ja arimasen.
English: That store is not very famous.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Colloquial Variant
‘Anmari’ is a common colloquial variation of ‘Amari’.
Example: あんまり美味しくない (Anmari oishikunai)
Amari vs Amari ni
When followed by ‘ni’ and a positive adjective, it means ‘excessively’ or ‘too much’. This is a different usage.
Example: あまりに高い (Amari ni takai – Too expensive)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ あまり食べます (Amari tabemasu)
✅ あまり食べません (Amari tabemasen)
‘Amari’ must always be followed by a negative verb or adjective when meaning ‘not much’.
❌ あまり分かりません (when you mean ‘not at all’)
✅ 全然分かりません (Zenzen wakarimasen)
Use ‘Zenzen’ for 0% (not at all) and ‘Amari’ for 10-30% (not very much).

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Using ‘amari ~ nai’ is often more polite and indirect than saying ‘zenzen ~ nai’ (not at all) or ‘kirai’ (dislike), as it avoids a harsh total negative.
Social Situations: Commonly used to decline offers politely (e.g., ‘Amari suki ja arimasen’ sounds softer than ‘Kirai desu’).
Regional Variations: In casual speech, ‘amari’ often becomes ‘anmari’ (あんまり), which sounds slightly more emotive or colloquial.

🔍 Subtle Differences

Amari vs. Zenzen
‘Amari’ means ‘not very’ (some degree exists), while ‘Zenzen’ means ‘not at all’ (zero degree).
When to use: Use ‘Amari’ when there is a small amount or low frequency. Use ‘Zenzen’ for absolute negation.
Amari vs. Chotto
‘Chotto’ means ‘a little’, while ‘Amari ~ nai’ means ‘not much’.
When to use: Use ‘Chotto’ in positive sentences and ‘Amari’ in negative ones.

📝 Conjugation Notes

When used with Nouns or Na-adjectives, use ‘dewa arimasen’ or ‘ja arimasen’. For I-adjectives, change the final ‘i’ to ‘kunai’.

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

The ‘a’ sound is short. In ‘anmari’, the ‘n’ is a nasal sound similar to ‘m’ before the ‘m’ in ‘mari’.

🧠 Memory Tips

Think of ‘Amari’ as a ‘Partial Negative’. It’s not a ‘Zero’, it’s just ‘Not much’. Always check for the ‘nai’ or ‘masen’ at the end of the sentence.

Other Grammar

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