ほとんど

Almost/mostly

Level 2Sounds Like hotondo

Use ほとんど to describe things that are nearly complete, or to talk about the vast majority of a group. It works like 'almost' or 'mostly' in English.

How It Works

1. Basic Usage as an Adverb
When used as an adverb, ほとんど directly precedes a verb or adjective to show that an action is nearly finished or a state is nearly reached.

  • 宿題はほとんど終わった。 (The homework is almost finished.)

2. Modifying Nouns
To say 'most [noun],' you must use the particle の after ほとんど. This is a common point of confusion for learners.

  • ほとんどの学生 (Most students)
  • ほとんどの時間 (Most of the time)

3. Use with Negatives
When paired with a negative verb or adjective, ほとんど means 'hardly' or 'almost never.'

  • 最近、ほとんど寝ていない。 (Lately, I have hardly slept.)

4. Nuance vs. Other Patterns
Unlike ぐらい (which is for rough estimates), ほとんど implies a specific goal or total limit is being approached. It suggests a very high degree (90-99%).

Examples (5)

  1. レポートはほとんど終わりました。

    I have almost finished the report.

    Word by Word: Report (topic) almost finished.

    Here, ほとんど acts as an adverb modifying the verb 終わりました（おわりました）.

  2. ほとんどの日本人は箸を使います。

    Most Japanese people use chopsticks.

    Word by Word: Almost-of Japanese-people (topic) chopsticks (object) use.

    When modifying the noun 日本人（にほんじん）, the particle の is required.

  3. お金がほとんどありません。

    I have hardly any money.

    Word by Word: Money (subject) almost there-is-not.

    When used with the negative ありません, it indicates a quantity very close to zero.

  4. この本の内容はほとんど理解できました。

    I was able to understand most of the content of this book.

    Word by Word: This book's content (topic) almost understand could-do.

    It shows a high degree of completion in the act of understanding.

  5. 彼はほとんど毎日ジムに行きます。

    He goes to the gym almost every day.

    Word by Word: He (topic) almost every-day gym to goes.

    It can modify time-related nouns like 毎日（まいにち） to show high frequency.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the particle 'no' when modifying a noun.

    ほとんど学生は親切です。
    ほとんどの学生は親切です。

    In Japanese, ほとんど functions as a noun when modifying another noun, so you must use the possessive particle の.

  • Using it for simple numerical estimates.

    駅までほとんど十分かかります。
    駅までだいたい十分かかります。

    For simple approximations of time or distance (like 'about 10 minutes'), use だいたい or ぐらい. ほとんど is used when approaching a limit or total.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ほとんどLevel 2Almost/mostly

Learn This First

ほとんど is an adverb of degree used to mean 'almost' or 'mostly'. To use it effectively, a learner needs to understand how adverbs modify verbs and adjectives within basic Japanese sentence structures.

Words in This Pattern

ほとんど