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全く~ない
N2 GRAMMAR ⏱ 0s study 📖 0 today
mattaku~nai
not at all~
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🃏 Flashcard
全く~ない
mattaku~nai
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not at all~
N2
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📊 Pattern Stats
JLPT Level N2
Upper-Intermediate · Academic & formal usage
Reading mattaku~nai
Post ID 51059
Patterns today 0
0 / 10 daily goal
📝 Usage Notes

not at all~

📖 How to use it

Expresses strong negation, meaning 'not at all'.

Attaches to 全く (mattaku) is placed before a negative predicate: the ない-form of verbs/adjectives or ない with nouns/な-adjectives. For verbs, use the plain negative form (e.g., 分からない, 食べない); for い-adjectives, use the negative form (e.g., 良くない, 面白くない); for nouns and な-adjectives, use では/じゃない.

全く~ない is a strong, emphatic way to say 'not at all'. It is used in both spoken and written Japanese, but in conversation it can sound quite forceful, so it is often used when you want to express complete denial or disagreement. For example, if someone asks if you understood a complicated explanation, you might say '全く分からない' to mean you have no understanding whatsoever.

This pattern can be used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns. With verbs, simply place 全く before the negative form: 全く見ない, 全く知らない. With い-adjectives, use the negative form: 全く良くない, 全く面白くない. With nouns and な-adjectives, use 全く~ではない or 全く~じゃない (casual): 全く興味がない, 全く関係がない. Note that 全く is often written in hiragana, but can also be in kanji as 全く.

Be careful not to use 全く with positive predicates, as it would sound unnatural. The negative must be present. Also, in very formal writing, you might see 全く~ない, but in everyday speech, 全然~ない is more common and less strong. 全く adds a touch of formality or intensity.

彼の言っていることが全く分からない。
Kare no itte iru koto ga mattaku wakaranai.
I don't understand what he is saying at all.
この映画は全く面白くない。
Kono eiga wa mattaku omoshirokunai.
This movie is not interesting at all.
私はスポーツに全く興味がない。
Watashi wa supōtsu ni mattaku kyōmi ga nai.
I have no interest in sports whatsoever.
Not 全然~ない 全然~ない is more colloquial and widely used in casual speech, while 全く~ない is more formal and can sound stronger or more emphatic. In negative sentences, 全く is interchangeable with 全然 in many cases, but 全く is preferred in writing and formal contexts. Additionally, 全く can also be used with positive predicates in some expressions (e.g., 全くその通りだ – 'exactly so'), but that usage is different and not the pattern here.
Register Neutral to slightly formal; used in both speech and writing, but in casual conversation 全然~ない is more common.
🎯 Quick Quiz
What does this grammar pattern mean or do?
全く~ない
📚 How to Master This Pattern
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Press Hear it and repeat 全く~ない three times. Feel the rhythm — grammar patterns have a natural flow.
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Write Two Sentences
Compose two original sentences using 全く~ない. One about yourself, one about something you see right now.
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❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What does the grammar pattern 全く~ない mean? ▼
Not at all~
What JLPT level is 全く~ない? ▼
Nihoner currently groups this pattern under JLPT N2 — Upper-Intermediate · Academic & formal usage. Use the level label as study guidance rather than a prediction of what will appear on an exam.
How do you use 全く~ない in a sentence? ▼
Attach 全く~ない (mattaku~nai) to the appropriate verb or noun form as described in the usage notes. Then try writing two original sentences — one about yourself and one about something around you.
Is 全く~ない formal or casual Japanese? ▼
全く~ない is used in formal or written contexts. You will see it mainly in written texts, news, business Japanese and academic contexts.
How can I remember 全く~ない long-term? ▼
Use the flashcard on this page for active recall — see the pattern, reconstruct the usage from memory, then flip. Follow with the 4-choice quiz to distinguish it from similar patterns. Review later the same day and again over the following days. Writing original sentences can help you practise using the pattern in context.