依い然ぜん

い

ぜ

ん

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

Describes a state or situation that continues without change, often with a formal or written tone. Frequently used in the pattern 依然として.

〈事こと〉は依い然ぜんとして不ふ明めいだX remains unknown/unclear
事じ故この原げん因いんは依い然ぜんとして不ふ明めいだ。
The cause of the accident remains unknown.
〈事こと〉が依い然ぜんとして続つづくX continues unchanged
不ふ景けい気きが依い然ぜんとして続つづいている。
The economic downturn is still continuing.
〈事こと〉は依い然ぜんとして〈形けい容よう詞し〉X is still [adjective], with no change
この地ち域いきの治ち安あんは依い然ぜんとして悪わるい。
Public safety in this area is still bad.

まだN5
まだ is the common, everyday word for 'still' or 'not yet', while 依然 is formal and stresses that a situation remains unchanged, often in news writing.
相あい変かわらずN3
相変わらず means 'as usual/as ever' and often carries a nuance of the situation being typical or expected, whereas 依然 is more neutral and simply notes the absence of change.
依い然ぜんとしてN1
依然 is the bare adjectival-noun form ('unchanged, as before') used with だ/たる, while 依然として is the fixed adverbial form used to modify verbs.

未み然ぜんN1
依然 (still, unchanged) and 未然 (before something happens, as in 未然に防ぐ) sound alike and both end in 然 but describe opposite time relationships.

依い然ぜんUsage94%
Standard kanji form; high-frequency in news and formal writing.
いぜんUsage6%
Kana spelling is common in less formal contexts or when avoiding kanji.
イゼンUsage<1%

A kango compound of 依 (rely on, depend on) and 然 (state, condition), literally 'as it depends on', conveying a state that continues as it was.