immediately; right away; on the spot
Describes an action taken without delay, often in response to a situation. The に is part of the adverbial form and is always present.
See also: 即座
He answered the question immediately.
He answered the question immediately.
I made a decision on the spot.
They responded to the complaint immediately.
He made an instant judgment about the situation.
She reacted instantly to those words.
直ちに is more formal and typically used in official or emergency contexts, whereas 即座に highlights a quick, spontaneous response rather than a procedural one.
即座に is the standard, everyday adverb for 'immediately', while 即 is a terse, mostly literary form used chiefly as a prefix in compounds like 即答.
即座に is a slightly formal word for 'instantly', whereas すかさず has a more colloquial, quick-witted feel tied to seizing a moment.
即座に also means 'immediately', but is more formal and often describes a deliberate, prompt action rather than the instinctive reflex of 咄嗟に.
即座に stresses an instantaneous reaction to a stimulus and sounds more literary than すぐ.
即座に stresses an instantaneous reaction to something (e.g. answering at once), while 今すぐ is a general demand or promise to act without delay.
即座に highlights an instantaneous response with almost no thinking time, similar in force to すぐさま but slightly more literary.
Compound of 即 (そく, 'instant') and 座 (ざ, 'seat'), literally 'at the seat', meaning without leaving one's seat, hence 'immediately'. The adverbial form 即座に is the standard usage.