全然
ぜんぜん
hepburn zenzen
not at all (with negative)
Part of speech · adverb
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 全然分かりません。I don't understand at all.
- 全然大丈夫です!Totally fine!
Collocations
全然 (zenzen, at all / totally)全然〜ない (zenzen ~nai, not at all)全然大丈夫 (zenzen daijoubu, totally fine — modern)まったく (mattaku, completely)ちっとも (chittomo, not at all)
Mnemonic
全然 zenzen — fixed as a negation-intensifier ("not at all"). Live semantic shift: traditional grammar requires negative pairing (全然〜ない). Modern conversation freely uses positive 全然大丈夫 / 全然OK to mean "totally fine, no problem". Dictionaries and the National Institute for Japanese Language acknowledge the positive usage (Meiji and Taisho records show positive use existed; negative pairing actually hardened later). The word is co-evolving with social discourse — N5 teaches the negative pattern, N3+ adds the positive layer.
Quick check
Meaning of 全然大丈夫 in modern Japanese?