全然
Chinese
all; whole; entire all; whole; entire; every; complete | adverbial suffix; ‑ly | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (全然) | 全 | 然 | |
simp. #(全然) | 全 | 然 |
Pronunciation
Adverb
全然
- completely; entirely; utterly
- 我對此事全然不知。 [MSC, trad.]
- Wǒ duì cǐ shì quánrán bù zhī. [Pinyin]
- I know absolutely nothing about this matter.
我对此事全然不知。 [MSC, simp.]
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Descendants
Sino-Xenic (全然):
- → Japanese: 全然 (zenzen)
- → Korean: 전연(全然) (jeonyeon)
Japanese
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
全 | 然 |
ぜん Grade: 3 | ぜん Grade: 4 |
goon | kan’on |
Alternative forms
- (emphatic) 全っ然 (zenzzen)
Etymology
Borrowed from written Chinese 全然 in the early 1800s from 白話小説 (hakuwa shōsetsu, literally “white-speech novels”), a genre using more colloquial styles, initially with furigana indicating a reading of まったく (mattaku, “completely”).[1]
First cited to a text from 1823, with the ぜんぜん (zenzen) reading became more common starting from the late 1890s.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) ぜんぜん [zèńzéń] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
- (Tokyo) ぜんぜん [zèńzéńꜜ] (Odaka – [4])[4]
- (Tokyo) ぜんぜん [zèńzéꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [3])[4]
- IPA(key): [d͡zẽ̞nd͡zẽ̞ɴ]
Audio (file)
Adverb
全然 • (zenzen)
- [from late 1890s] (not) at all (with negative verb)
- 私は料理など全然しない。自信がないからね。
- Watashi wa ryōri nado zenzen shinai. Jishin ga nai kara ne.
- I don't cook at all, since I lack the confidence.
- 「わかった?」 「いや、全然。」
- “Wakatta?” “Iya, zenzen.”
- "Got it?" "Nope, not at all."
- 2009 March 9, Ohba, Tsugumi; Obata, Takeshi, “12ページ 10と2 [Page 12: 10 and 2]”, in BAKUMAN。 [Bakuman.], volume 2 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:
- 高木は今からあたしとの結婚考えてる?
- Takagi wa ima kara atashi to no kekkon kangaeteru?
- Takagi, are you planning to marry me?
- Zenzen
- Not at all
- 高木は今からあたしとの結婚考えてる?
- Synonym: (Hakata) いっちょん (itchon)
- Antonym: よく (yoku, “frequently, often”)
- 私は料理など全然しない。自信がないからね。
- [from 1950] (colloquial) totally, completely (with affirmative verb)
- 全然違う話
- zenzen chigau hanashi
- a completely different story
- Synonyms: 全く (mattaku), 非常に, とても
- 全然違う話
See also
- 余り (amari): (with negative verbs) very often, all that much
- 時々 (tokidoki): sometimes, at times, occasionally
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
- 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
Korean
Hanja in this term | |
---|---|
全 | 然 |
Adverb
全然 • (jeonyeon) (hangeul 전연)
- Hanja form? of 전연 (“completely”).