also: ぜんっぜん
not at all; not in the slightest
Used with a negative predicate to express complete negation. Standard, neutral register.
その映画は全然面白くなかった。
That movie wasn't interesting at all.
I don't understand what he's saying at all.
Used with words that have a negative or opposite meaning (e.g., 反対, 違う, 駄目) to mean 'completely'. Not used with ordinary positive adjectives in standard Japanese.
その意見には全然反対です。
I am completely opposed to that opinion.
このケーキは全然駄目だ。
This cake is completely no good.
Colloquial use with positive statements to mean 'very' or 'extremely'. Common in casual speech, especially among younger speakers. Considered informal.
このラーメン、全然おいしい！
This ramen is really delicious!
全然いいよ、気にしないで。
It's totally fine, don't worry.
I don't understand this problem at all.
Their ways of thinking are completely different.
It's totally fine even if you're late.
全然 is the everyday, conversational way to say 'not at all', while 一向 (usually 一向に) sounds more formal or literary in the same negative pattern.
全然 is the everyday word for 'not at all' usable in any register, while てんで is a stronger, more colloquial intensifier with the same negative meaning.
全然 is the everyday, versatile word for 'not at all', while 万 is a rare, emphatic literary adverb mostly confined to set phrases like 万に一つも.
全然 is a plain, everyday 'not at all' with negatives, while 何とも adds a nuance of 'nothing in particular' or indescribability.
全然 is used mainly with negatives for 'not at all' (and casually with positives), whereas まるで also covers the 'as if/just like' comparison sense that 全然 lacks.
全然 is a casual, everyday way to say 'not at all', whereas 万々 conveys the same idea with heavier emphasis and a more formal, old-fashioned tone.
全然 is used the same way as ちっとも with negatives, but in casual speech 全然 can also modify positive predicates to mean 'totally', which ちっとも cannot.
全然 is the common, everyday word for 'not at all' with negatives, whereas 何ら is stiffer and typically appears in written or formal contexts like contracts and legal text.
全然 is the everyday casual word for 'not at all' with negatives, very close to 丸っきり but even more common in spoken Japanese.
全然 is a casual word for 'not at all' that can even appear in positive sentences colloquially, while 決して is more formal and strictly negative.
Search-only emphatic variant; not a standard written form.