Translation guide
Ways to express that something is becoming stronger, more extreme, or more intense in Japanese.
Expressing that a state or action is becoming more intense or extreme.
Adverb meaning 'more and more' or 'increasingly'. Used with adjectives and verbs to show a gradual increase in intensity.
The rain has been getting stronger and stronger.
His story became more and more interesting.
Adverb indicating a rapid, steady progression. Often used for things increasing quickly or continuously.
The temperature is rising rapidly.
Her Japanese is getting better and better quickly.
Adverb meaning 'even more' or 'a notch above'. Emphasizes a noticeable increase in degree.
It's even colder today.
His performance has become even better.
Adverb meaning 'still more' or 'further'. Similar to 一段と but slightly more formal.
The wind became even stronger.
Making adjectives stronger, like 'very', 'extremely', or 'incredibly'.
Standard word for 'very'. Safe for most situations.
This cake is very delicious.
Casual intensifier meaning 'really' or 'extremely'. Very common in spoken Japanese.
Formal word for 'very' or 'extremely'. Used in writing and formal speech.
Slang intensifier meaning 'insanely' or 'super'. Very casual, used among friends.
Emphasizing the degree or force of an action.
Verb suffix meaning 'to do intensely' or 'to do like crazy'. Attach to verb stem.
Yesterday I played games like crazy.
He's eating like crazy.
Reduplication pattern for emphasis, e.g., 泣きに泣く (cry and cry). Often used in literary or dramatic contexts.
She cried and cried.
Emphasizing the extremity of a noun, like 'a real...', 'a total...'.
Both mean 'more and more', but ますます implies a gradual, often subjective increase, while どんどん suggests a rapid, often objective progression. どんどん can also imply a sense of momentum or lack of hesitation.
Japanese is getting more and more difficult (gradually).
Work is piling up rapidly.
Japanese often relies on context and verb forms rather than explicit intensifiers. Overusing words like とても or すごく can sound unnatural or overly emphatic. Sometimes a simple adjective is enough.
I'm really tired.
非常に重要な問題です。
This is an extremely important issue.
めちゃくちゃ楽しかった！
It was insanely fun!
まったくの嘘だ。
It's a complete lie.