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JLPT N1 Adverbs & Discourse Connectors Vocabulary (2026)

Complete JLPT N1 Adverbs & Discourse Connectors vocabulary with readings and example sentences (75 words).

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This is the largest N1 vocabulary category — 75 formal written-style adverbs and discourse connectors, the register that separates competent N2 reading from genuinely fluent N1 comprehension of editorials and literary prose.

This article is part of our JLPT N1 Complete Vocabulary Guide. Practice all 75 words with the Adverbs & Discourse Connectors Vocabulary deck in Onigiri Anki.

Formal Conjunctions & Discourse Markers (12)

Written-style connectors that link clauses in essays and formal argumentation.

therefore; thusゆえにyueni

彼は欠席した。ゆえに、会議は延期された。 — He was absent. Therefore, the meeting was postponed.

therefore; accordinglyよってyotte

電車が遅れた。よって、私たちは遅れて着いた。 — The train was delayed; therefore, we arrived late.

on the one hand; meanwhileかたやkataya

かたや彼はやめたがり、かたや彼女は続けたがっている。 — On the one hand, he wants to quit; on the other hand, she wants to continue.

or; toないしnaishi

会議は一時間ないし二時間で終わるだろう。 — The meeting will run for an hour or two.

to begin with; originallyそもsomo

そも、はっきりした計画が必要です。 — To begin with, we need a clear plan.

especially; among othersなかんずくnakanzuku

この小説は、なかんずく結末がよかった。 — Of all the parts of this novel, I especially liked the ending.

generally概してgaishite

概して、計画はうまく進んでいる。 — Generally, the plan has gone well.

generally (on the whole)総じてsoujite

総じて、結果はよかった。 — Overall, the results were good.

uniformly一様にichiyouni

色は一様に並べられている。 — The colors are arranged uniformly.

uniformity一律ichiritsu

会社は賃上げを一律で行った。 — The company implemented wage increases uniformly.

single-mindedly一途にichizuni

彼は目標に向かって一途に努力した。 — He worked single-mindedly toward his goal.

and; as well asならびにnarabini

この報告書は、部長ならびに課長の承認を得た。 — This report received approval from the manager and the section chief.

Concession, Condition & Reluctant Acceptance (6)

Adverbs for hypothetical or grudging situations — "even if," "were it to," "despite."

even if; granting thatよしんばyoshinba

よしんば最初の試合に負けても、まだ取り返せる。 — Even if we lose the first match, we can still recover.

even ifたといtatoi

たとい雨でも、出かけます。 — Even if it rains, we will go ahead.

foolishly; halfheartedlyなまじnamaji

なまじ手を出さなければ、結果は違ったかもしれない。 — If he had not acted halfheartedly, the result might have been different.

not necessarily; by no meansあながちanagachi

それはあながち彼が悪いということではない。 — It is not necessarily true that he is to blame.

besides; moreoverあまつさえamatsusae

仕事を失ったうえ、あまつさえ家まで失った。 — He lost his job, and what's worse, he even lost his home.

however; neverthelessしかるにshikaruni

しかるに、計画は土壇場で失敗した。 — However, the plan failed at the last minute.

Manner: Reluctance, Rigidity & Insincerity (8)

How something is done — stubbornly, carelessly, or with false sincerity.

obstinately; stubbornlyかたくなにkatakunani

彼はかたくなに意見を変えなかった。 — He stubbornly refused to change his opinion.

vainly; needlesslyいたずらにitazurani

時間をいたずらに費やすべきではない。 — We must not waste time needlessly.

neglectfully; carelesslyなおざりにnaozarini

勉強をなおざりにすると、成績が下がります。 — If you neglect your studies, your grades will fall.

plausibly; as if trueまことしやかにmakotoshiyakani

そのうわさはまことしやかに広まった。 — A rumor spread as if it were true.

unavoidably; reluctantlyやむなくyamunaku

やむなく旅行を中止した。 — We had to cancel the trip reluctantly.

firmly; solidlyでんとdento

その記念碑は広場の真ん中にでんと立っていた。 — The monument stood firmly in the middle of the square.

softly; gentlyそっとsotto

赤ちゃんを起こさないように、そっとドアを閉めた。 — He gently closed the door so as not to wake the baby.

truly; sincerelyしんにshinni

彼女はしんにお客さまに謝った。 — She sincerely apologized to the customer.

Emphasis, Completeness & Assertion (11)

Adverbs that strengthen a claim or mark it as total/unconditional.

without exception; every last oneもれなくmorenaku

参加者にはもれなく無料のペンが配られた。 — Each participant received a free pen without exception.

seemingly; as ifさもsamo

彼は、さも理解したようにうなずいた。 — He nodded as if he understood everything.

aptly; well saidいみじくもimijikumo

いみじくも彼が言ったように、信頼は時間がかかる。 — As he said so aptly, trust takes time to build.

just like; as ifさながらsanagara

夜の街はさながら夢のようだった。 — The city at night was just like a dream.

truly; indeedまことにmakotoni

ご支援、まことにありがとうございます。 — We are truly grateful for your support.

extremely; veryはなはだhanahada

その被害ははなはだ大きかった。 — The damage from the storm was extremely severe.

remarkably; conspicuouslyいちじるしくichijirushiku

売り上げは昨年、いちじるしく伸びた。 — Sales increased remarkably last year.

packed tightlyびっしりbisshiri

本棚には本がびっしり並んでいた。 — The shelf was packed tightly with books.

solely; entirely偏にhitoeni

失敗の責任は偏に彼にある。 — The responsibility for the failure lies solely with him.

secretly密かにhisokani

彼女は密かに部屋を出た。 — She secretly left the room.

so; to such an extentかくもkakumo

かくも静かな夜は珍しい。 — A night this quiet is rare.

Time, Sequence & Occasion (13)

When something happens, relative to other events.

on the occasion; nextついでtsuide

旅行のついでに、昔の友人を訪ねました。 — On the occasion of my trip, I visited my old friend.

on this occasionこのたびkonotabi

このたびは、ありがとうございました。 — On this occasion, I would like to express my thanks.

recently; the other dayさきごろsakigoro

さきごろ、昔の先生に会いました。 — The other day, I met my former teacher.

later; afterwardのちほどnochihodo

のちほど説明します。 — I'll explain it later.

still; not yetいまだにimadani

私はいまだにあの日を忘れられない。 — I still cannot forget that day.

for a long timeながらくnagaraku

ながらくお待たせしました。 — Thank you for waiting for a long time.

not at all一向にikkouni

痛みは一向に良くならない。 — The pain is not getting better at all.

temporarily一時ichiji

会議は一時中止された。 — The meeting was temporarily suspended.

promptly速やかにsumiyakani

速やかに返事をしてください。 — Please respond promptly.

completely changed; by contrastうってかわってuttekawatte

その町はうってかわって、静かな町になった。 — The town changed completely and became a quiet town.

all together; unanimouslyこぞってkozotte

メンバーはこぞってその提案に賛成した。 — The members unanimously agreed to the proposal.

first of allまっさきにmassakini

私はまっさきに手を挙げた。 — I was the first to raise my hand.

all together一斉にisseini

学生たちは一斉に立ち上がった。 — The students stood up all together.

Degree, Estimation & Likelihood (16)

How much, how likely, or how precisely — hedged or approximate quantities.

remarkably; markedlyめっきりmekkiri

彼女の声は、めっきり落ち着いた。 — Her voice has become markedly calmer.

excessively; unusuallyやけにyakeni

今日はやけに静かだ。 — Today is unusually quiet.

somewhat; a littleいささかisasaka

その音はいささか耳障りだった。 — The noise was somewhat irritating.

especially殊にkotoni

私は殊に最後の場面が気に入った。 — I especially liked the ending.

a little; somewhat (colloquial)ちとchito

今日はちと疲れました。 — I'm a little tired today.

a little; somewhatややyaya

部屋の中はやや寒かった。 — The room was somewhat cold.

in detail; minutelyつぶさにtsubusani

探偵は現場をつぶさに調べた。 — The detective examined the scene in detail.

one by one; in detail逐一chikuichi

彼は数字を逐一確認した。 — He checked the numbers one by one.

carefully; earnestlyたんねんにtannenni

彼は書類をたんねんに調べた。 — He examined the documents carefully.

unexpectedly; more than expectedおもいのほかomoinohoka

結果はおもいのほか良かった。 — The result was unexpectedly good.

surely; no doubtさぞsazo

さぞご心配だったことでしょう。 — Surely you were very worried.

never; surely notよもやyomoya

よもや彼が辞めるとは思わなかった。 — I never imagined he would quit.

if by any chance万一manichi

万一彼が来なければ、私に電話してください。 — If by any chance he does not come, please call me.

if by any chance (emphatic)万が一mangaichi

万が一電車が遅れたら、待ちます。 — If by any chance the train is delayed, I will wait.

generally (for the most part)概ねoomune

計画は概ね問題ありません。 — The plan is generally fine.

simply; merelyたんにtanni

たんに時間の問題です。 — It is simply a matter of time.

Attitude & Spontaneity (9)

Natural, deliberate, or resolute ways of approaching a situation.

naturally; of courseもとよりmotoyori

この秘密はもとより、だれにも話さない。 — Of course, I will not tell anyone this secret.

naturally; of itselfおのずとonozuto

時間がたてば、答えはおのずと明らかになる。 — With time, the answer will naturally become clear.

naturally; unconsciouslyしぜんとshizento

その知らせを聞いて、しぜんと笑顔になった。 — I naturally began to smile when I heard that news.

for the time beingさしあたりsashiatari

さしあたり、この計画は秘密にしておきましょう。 — For the time being, let's keep this plan secret.

for the time being; for the presentさしずめsashizume

さしずめ、今は様子を見るしかない。 — For the time being, we have no choice but to wait and see.

as much as possible努めてtsutomete

無駄を努めて減らします。 — We will try our best to reduce waste.

fortunately幸いにもsaiwainimo

幸いにも、電車は遅れなかった。 — Fortunately, the train was not delayed.

boldly; resolutelyおもいきってomoikitte

おもいきって会社を辞めて、やり直すことにした。 — I decided to quit my job boldly and start over.

to one's heart's content; boldlyおもいきりomoikiri

試験が終わってから、おもいきり寝た。 — After the exam, I slept to my heart's content.

よしんば, たとい, and the concessive register

よしんば and たとい (a more literary variant of たとえ) both mean "even if," but they belong to a formal, almost old-fashioned register rarely used in speech — you'll meet them in essays and novels, paired with a ても/としても clause (よしんば失敗しても, even if it should fail). なまじ is subtler: it means "halfheartedly" or, more precisely, describes a situation where partial effort or partial knowledge makes things worse than doing nothing at all (なまじ知識があるばかりに, precisely because he had some halfway knowledge...). This nuance — that the qualifier itself signals irony or regret — is common across this list and worth learning example-first rather than gloss-first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 概して and 総じて?

Both mean "generally/on the whole," but 概して tends to introduce a broad summary judgment (この地域は概して温暖だ, this region is generally mild), while 総じて more often sums up a range of individual cases (今年の作品は総じて評価が高い, this year's works are, taken together, highly rated). They're close enough that misusing one for the other rarely causes real confusion, but N1 reading passages test recognizing both.

Is なおざりに the same as いい加減に?

They're close, but なおざりに specifically means neglecting something that deserves attention — leaving it undone or half-done (仕事をなおざりにする, to neglect one's work). いい加減に is broader and more colloquial, covering sloppiness in general. なおざりに is the more literary, N1-register choice.

Practice All 75 Adverbs & Discourse Connectors Vocabulary Words

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