全然

Chinese
 
all; whole; entire
all; whole; entire; every; complete
 adverbial suffix; ‑ly
trad. (全然) 全 然
simp. #(全然) 全 然

Pronunciation

Adverb

全然

  1. completely; entirely; utterly
    我對此事全然不知。 [MSC, trad.]
    我对此事全然不知。 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ duì cǐ shì quánrán bù zhī. [Pinyin]
    I know absolutely nothing about this matter.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants
Sino-Xenic (全然):
  • → Japanese: 全然(ぜんぜん) (zenzen)
  • → Korean: 전연(全然) (jeonyeon)

Japanese
Kanji in this term
全 然
ぜん
Grade: 3		 ぜん
Grade: 4
goon kan’on

Alternative forms
  • (emphatic) 全(ぜん)っ然(ぜん) (zenzzen)

Etymology

Borrowed from written Chinese 全然 (quánrán) in the early 1800s from 白話小説 (hakuwa shōsetsu, literally “white-speech novels”), a genre using more colloquial styles, initially with furigana indicating a reading of まったく (mattaku, “completely”).[1]

First cited to a text from 1823, with the ぜんぜん (zenzen) reading became more common starting from the late 1890s.[1]

Pronunciation

Adverb

全(ぜん)然(ぜん) • (zenzen) 

  1. [from late 1890s] (not) at all (with negative verb)
    私(わたし)は料(りょう)理(り)など全(ぜん)然(ぜん)しない。自(じ)信(しん)がないからね。
    Watashi wa ryōri nado zenzen shinai. Jishin ga nai kara ne.
    I don't cook at all, since I lack the confidence.
    「わかった？」 「いや、全(ぜん)然(ぜん)。」
    “Wakatta?”   “Iya, zenzen.”
    "Got it?"   "Nope, not at all."
    Synonym: (Hakata) いっちょん (itchon)
    Antonym: よく (yoku, “frequently, often”)
  2. [from 1950] (colloquial) totally, completely (with affirmative verb)
    全(ぜん)然(ぜん)違(ちが)う話(はなし)
    zenzen chigau hanashi
    a completely different story
    Synonyms: 全く (mattaku), 非常に, とても

See also

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  4. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  • 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean
Hanja in this term
全然

Adverb

全然 • (jeonyeon) (hangeul 전연)

  1. Hanja form? of 전연 (“completely”).
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