A2
Making adverbs — く and に
How Japanese turns い-adjectives and な-adjectives into adverbs with く and に, and where the resulting adverb sits in the sentence.
English adds -ly to almost everything. Japanese has two endings, and which one you use depends on the adjective’s class.
い-adjectives take く
Drop い, add く.
早く起きました。
Hayaku okimashita.
I got up early.
もっと大きく書いてください。
Motto ōkiku kaite kudasai.
Please write it bigger.
The same く appears in the negative 寒くない, which is not a coincidence — ない is an adjective, and く is how an adjective attaches to what follows.
な-adjectives take に
静かに話してください。
Shizuka ni hanashite kudasai.
Please speak quietly.
上手に作りました。
Jōzu ni tsukurimashita.
You made it well.
The な becomes に. Nothing else changes.
いい is irregular
Its adverb is よく, from the older form よい — the same shift that gives よくない.
よく分かりました。
Yoku wakarimashita.
I understand perfectly.
よく also means often, which is a separate sense worth knowing: よく行きます, I go often.
いく話せます。
よく話せます。
いい becomes よ- before every ending. There is no いく.
Position
The adverb goes before the verb, but not necessarily immediately before it — other phrases can intervene, and Japanese generally puts adverbs early.
ゆっくり日本語で話してください。
Yukkuri nihongo de hanashite kudasai.
Please speak slowly, in Japanese.