よく
よく
hepburn yoku
often, well
Part of speech · adverb
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- よく寿司を食べます。I often eat sushi.
- よくわかりました。I understand well.
Collocations
よく (yoku, often / well)よくある (yoku aru, common / frequent)よくわかる (yoku wakaru, understand well)よく見る (yoku miru, often see / look carefully)しばしば (shibashiba, frequently — formal)
Mnemonic
よく yoku = 良く (formal kanji) or yoku (kana). The dual-meaning axis is core: ① frequency ("often") — "yoku sushi wo taberu" (often eat sushi); ② degree / quality ("well, thoroughly") — "yoku wakatta" (understood well), "yoku miru" (look carefully). One adverb covers both frequency and degree — typical Japanese adverb polysemy. Context and collocation disambiguate. Spectrum: itsumo > yoku (multiple times per week) > tokidoki > tamani > mare ni. Parallel to English "often" extending into "well, thoroughly." Korean "jal" and Chinese 好 / 常 split these axes; Japanese unifies them.
Quick check
Which axis does よく carry in "yoku wakarimashita"?