Translation guide
The English adverb 'heavily' has several distinct meanings, from physical weight to intensity and manner. This guide organizes them by use, with natural Japanese equivalents.
Describing something done with physical heaviness, pressure, or impact.
The adverbial form of 重い (heavy). Used for physical weight or a heavy feeling.
He sat down heavily.
An onomatopoeic adverb for a heavy thud or landing heavily.
He plopped down heavily onto the sofa.
Expressing that something is done in large amounts or with strong intensity.
Means 'terribly' or 'severely', often used for negative intensity.
He was heavily drunk.
Means 'greatly' or 'very much', suitable for positive or neutral intensity.
Means 'considerably' or 'quite', a common intensifier.
Used in formal contexts meaning 'heavily' as in 'repeatedly' or 'strongly', often with verbs like お詫びする (apologize).
Describing something that is thick, abundant, or concentrated.
Means 'plentifully' or 'generously', often used for quantities.
He added sugar heavily.
Adverbial form of 濃い (thick/dense), used for smoke, fog, makeup, etc.
The room was heavily filled with smoke.
Means 'closely packed' or 'densely', for things like writing or objects.
Describing breathing, movement, or action done with effort.
Describing movement that is slow and heavy.
Directly translating 'heavily' as 重く (omoku) only works for physical weight. For intensity, use adverbs like ひどく or かなり. For 'heavily influenced', 大いに影響を受けた is natural, not 重く影響を受けた.
ひどく (hidoku) often implies a negative or severe degree, while かなり (kanari) is neutral and simply means 'considerably'. Use ひどく for 'heavily drunk' (ひどく酔っている) and かなり for 'heavily populated' (かなり人口が多い).
It rained heavily.
He relies heavily on his parents.
The box was heavily loaded.
彼の意見は大いに影響を受けた。
His opinion was heavily influenced.
He drank heavily.
I apologize heavily (profusely).
ノートにびっしり書いてある。
It's written heavily (densely) in the notebook.