なかなか
なかなか
hepburn nakanaka
quite, considerably; (with neg.) not easily
Part of speech · adverb
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- この料理はなかなかおいしいですね。This dish is quite tasty.
- バスがなかなか来ません。The bus just will not come.
Collocations
なかなかいいなかなか来ないなかなかできないなかなかのなかなか難しい
Mnemonic
なかなか nakanaka — an adverb in kana with two seemingly opposite uses: (1) in affirmatives, "quite, rather" (なかなかおいしい, quite tasty); (2) in negatives, "not easily, just won't" (なかなか来ない, just won't come). The meaning hinges on whether the ending is affirmative or negative. It derives from a doubling of 中 (naka).
Quick check
In バスがなかなか来ません, what does なかなか mean?