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決して (けっして, kesshite) Japanese meaning: never | Kotomora
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Expressions 眦まなじり を 決けっ して with one's eyes flashing; with a fierce glare Related words· 10 絶対に can be used in positive sentences to mean 'absolutely' as well as with negatives to mean 'never', while 決して only pairs with a negative predicate.
断じて is a more literary, forceful way to say 'never/absolutely not' with a negative, while 決して is the everyday equivalent.
少しも emphasizes 'not even a little' with a negative, whereas 決して stresses a firm denial or prohibition ('never, under any circumstances').
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.
Show 6 more 決して with a negative verb means 'never' or 'by no means', matching the archaic negation sense of あえて that has since fallen out of use.
決して is the standard modern word for emphatic 'never' with a negative verb, while 万々 is a stronger, more literary variant used in the same pattern.
決して〜ない is a general emphatic 'never' used for any negative statement, while 二度と〜ない specifically stresses that something will not happen a second time.
Don't confuse with 決まって means 'always, without fail' describing a habitual pattern, while 決して means 'never, by no means' and is used with a negative verb; the similar kanji and sound make them easy to mix up despite opposite meanings.
Etymology Derived from the kanji 決 (decide) and the particle して, originally meaning 'decidedly'. The modern usage as a negative polarity item developed from emphatic denial.
決して pairs with negatives to flatly state something will never happen, while どうしても in the same negative pattern stresses that it's impossible despite every effort.
決して~ない expresses a strong, determined negation ('never, absolutely not'), while 一度も~ない specifically stresses that an occurrence count is zero.
決して is the standard word for strong negation and pairs with negatives just like 誓って, but without the swearing nuance.
Usage 18%
Kana spelling is common in informal writing and when the kanji is not needed.
けして Usage 2%
irregular kana usage
Irregular kana usage; a colloquial or dialectal variant of けっして. Not standard.
