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Japanese Versatility List

Cuts: Time & sequence

Sorted by drama-subtitle rank, most frequent first.

Already covered (31)

A word already in the list does this job.

  • konkaithis time (around)#372Covered by kondo (Later and next time). kondo already carries 'this time'.
  • -aidawhile, during#389Covered by -nagara (When, before, after, while), -chuu (Busy right now), -uchi ni (Until, by, while still). 'While / during' is already handled three ways.
  • ichidoonce; even once, ever#427Covered by -ta koto ga aru (Grammar patterns as vocabulary), mou ikkai (Responses, reactions, fillers & social phrases), zenzen (Degree, amount & limits). Numeral-ish; 'ever', 'again' and 'not once' are handled by kept items. · 1 of 3 judges kept it
  • -ta bakaripolite -ta bakari desujust did#448-tokoro already teaches 'just did', saikin covers 'recently'; it would be a near-duplicate beside bakkari.
  • isshoufor life, forever (isshou wasurenai); isshou no onegai = I'm begging you, just this once#693zutto already covers 'forever' (zutto wasurenai). isshou no onegai is a fixed-phrase extra.
  • nido tonever again (with negative)+ negative#722Covered by mou (Already, still, finally). mou + negative already says 'not anymore'; nido to only adds force.
  • ikinarisuddenly, out of the blue, straight off (ikinari nani? = what's this all of a sudden?)#723Covered by kyuu ni (Soon, suddenly, gradually). kyuu ni is the everyday 'suddenly'.
  • -ta ato deafter doing#775Covered by -te kara (When, before, after, while), ato de (Later and next time). -te kara already says 'after doing'; ato de is kept for 'later'. · 1 of 3 judges kept it
  • -koroback when, around the time#822Covered by -toki (When, before, after, while). kodomo no toki does the same job in speech. · 1 of 3 judges kept it
  • tochuuon the way; midway#844-toki (kaeru toki), -chuu and saigo made cover 'on the way' and 'partway'; confusable with -chuu.
  • toriaezufor now, to start with#864Covered by toriaezu (Stance, attitude & manner). Same word is already kept in stance. · 1 of 3 judges kept it
  • aikawarazuas always, same as ever#960itsumo and zutto cover 'as always / same as ever' well enough for a learner.
  • tsui nifinally, at long last#1053Covered by yatto (Already, still, finally). yatto is the spoken 'finally'; tsui ni leans narration.
  • motomotooriginally, to begin with; by nature#1120saisho kara and mukashi already express 'originally / to begin with' well enough.
  • sono uchieventually, one of these days#1274Covered by itsuka (Pointing, question & people words). itsuka does the vague 'someday / eventually' job.
  • isshunfor a moment, for a split second#1421chotto (chotto bikkuri shita) and sugu cover brief moments well enough.
  • tokku nilong ago; ages ago (already)#1613Covered by mou (Already, still, finally). Just an emphatic mou.
  • mou ikkaipolite mou ichidoone more time#1841Covered by mou ikkai (Responses, reactions, fillers & social phrases). Same phrase is already kept in responses. · 1 of 3 judges kept it
  • imasaranow, after all this time; too late for that now#1919Stance nuance only; ima and mou osoi from kept words express the idea.
  • yuugataearly evening, dusk#2124yoru and hiru cover the slot loosely; it adds little that's distinct beyond the kept times of day.
  • itsu no ma ni kabefore I knew itset phrase#2200Optional storytelling phrase. kyuu ni or -nai uchi ni get the idea across.
  • yuubelast night#2525kinou no yoru is built from kept words and does the same job.
  • fudanusually, normally (day to day)#2545Covered by itsumo (How often). itsumo wa ... kedo kyou wa makes the same habit-versus-now contrast.
  • maikaievery time (maikai osoi jan = you're late every time)#2846Covered by itsumo (How often). itsumo handles 'every time' complaints (itsumo osoi jan).
  • atto iu main no time; (atto iu ma datta) it flew byset phrase#2853hayakatta ne, from the kept word hayai, does the same 'it flew by' job. Optional fixed phrase.
  • shotchuuall the time, constantly#3196Covered by yoku, itsumo (How often). yoku and itsumo cover 'all the time'.
  • asatteday after tomorrow#3247Low frequency (#3247). ashita, kondo and raishuu handle near-future plans adequately.
  • -goroaround (a time)#3829Covered by gurai (Degree, amount & limits). gurai is widely used for approximate times in speech; ごろ alone ranks #3829.
  • ototoiday before yesterday#4331Low frequency (#4331). kono aida and kinou cover recent past well enough for conversation.
  • taiteiusually, mostly#4463Covered by itsumo (How often). itsumo already glosses 'usually'; taitei ranks #4463.
  • mettanirarely, hardly ever+ negative#5306Covered by anmari, hotondo (Degree, amount & limits). anmari / hotondo + negative say 'rarely'; mettani ranks #5306.

Skipped (1)

Too rare, narrow, formal or out of scope.

  • imagoroabout now, by now; only now?! (imagoro?)#1866Narrow; ima covers the guessing use, and 'only now?!' is mostly recognition.