Chinese

Adverb

全然

1. completely, entirely, utterly

   我對此事全然不知。 [MSC, trad.]

   我对此事全然不知。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ duì cǐ shì quánrán bù zhī. [Pinyin]

   I know absolutely nothing about this matter.

Japanese

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) ぜんぜん [zèńzéń] (Heiban - [0])
• (Tokyo) ぜんぜん​ [zèńzéńꜜ] (Odaka - [4])
• (Tokyo) ぜんぜ​ん [zèńzéꜜǹ] (Nakadaka - [3])
• IPA^(key): [zẽ̞nzẽ̞ɴ]

Adverb

全然 ‎(hiragana ぜんぜん, romaji zenzen)

1. not at all (with negative verb)

   私 (わたし)は料 (りょう)理 (り)など全 (ぜん)然 (ぜん)しない。自 (じ)信 (しん)がないからね。

   Watashi wa ryōri nado zenzen shinai. Jishin ga nai kara ne.

   I don't cook at all, since I lack the confidence.

   • 2009 March 9, Tsugumi Ohba; Takeshi Obata, “１０と２ [10 and 2]”, in バクマン。 [BAKUMAN.], volume 2 (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Shueisha, ISBN 978-4-08-874644-9, page 102:

     高 (たか)木 (ぎ)は今 (いま)からあたしとの結 (けっ)婚 (こん)考 (かんが)えてる？

     Takagi wa ima kara atashi to no kekkon kangaeteru?

     Takagi, are you planning to marry me?

     全 (ぜん)然 (ぜん)

     Zenzen

     Not at all

2. totally (with affirmative verb)

Antonyms

• よく ‎(yoku): frequently; often

See also

• 余 (あま)り ‎(amari): (with negative verbs) not very often; not much
• 時々 (ときどき) ‎(tokidoki): sometimes, at times, occasionally

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, ISBN 4095102535.

Korean

Adverb

全然 • ‎(jeonyeon) ‎(hangeul 전연)

1. Hanja form^? of 전연, “completely”.