とても/すごく

Very

Level 2Sounds Like totemo/sugoku

Both とても and すごく mean 'very' or 'really.' They are used to increase the intensity of a quality (い-adjectives or な-adjectives), an action (adverbs), or a state/emotion (verbs).

How It Works

1. Usage and Placement
Both words are adverbs that typically come before an い-adjective, a な-adjective, another adverb, or a verb that expresses a state or emotion.

  • とても ＋ 寒い（さむい）= Very cold
  • すごく ＋ きれい = Really beautiful
  • とても ＋ 驚いた（おどろいた）= Was very surprised

2. Register and Nuance

  • とても: Neutral and polite. It is the safest choice for general conversation and polite writing. However, in highly formal business contexts, words like 非常に（ひじょうに） or 大変（たいへん） are often preferred.
  • すごく: Casual and expressive. It comes from the adjective すごい (amazing/terrible) and carries the speaker's personal feelings. It is very common in polite spoken Japanese among acquaintances, but avoided in formal writing.

3. The Negative Restriction
Neither とても nor すごく should be used with a simple negative to mean 'not very.' For example, とても寒くない（とてもさむくない） is unnatural. To express 'not very,' you must use あまり.

4. Emphasis (Gemination)
In casual conversation, both can be made even stronger by adding a small つ（っ）:

  • とっても
  • すっごく

5. Special Negative Use of とても
While usually positive, とても can be paired with a negative potential verb (e.g., とても信じられない（しんじられない） — 'simply cannot believe') to mean 'absolutely cannot.' すごく is not used in this specific grammatical structure.

Examples (5)

  1. このラーメンはとてもおいしいです。

    This ramen is very delicious.

    Word by Word: This ramen (topic) very delicious is.

    A standard, polite sentence using とても. It sounds objective and calm.

  2. 昨日のテストはすごく難しかった！

    Yesterday's test was really difficult!

    Word by Word: Yesterday's test (topic) really was-difficult!

    Using すごく adds a sense of the speaker's personal struggle or emotion regarding the difficulty.

  3. 田中さんはとても親切な人です。

    Mr. Tanaka is a very kind person.

    Word by Word: Tanaka-san (topic) very kind person is.

    とても is used here to modify the な-adjective 親切（しんせつ）.

  4. 今日はすっごく暑いね。

    It's super hot today, isn't it?

    Word by Word: Today (topic) super hot (is) right?

    The emphasized form すっごく is used in casual speech to show the speaker is really feeling the heat.

  5. そんなことはとても信じられません。

    I simply cannot believe such a thing.

    Word by Word: That kind of thing (topic) at all believe-cannot.

    An example of とても used with a negative potential verb to mean 'absolutely cannot.'

Common Mistakes

  • Using とても to describe quantity instead of degree.

    とても食べました。
    たくさん食べました。

    とても modifies the 'degree' of a quality (how cold, how kind). To say you did an action 'a lot' or have 'many' things, use たくさん.

  • Using the adjective form すごい as an adverb in formal contexts.

    すごい高いです。
    すごく高いです。

    In casual speech, people often say すごい instead of すごく. However, in standard or formal Japanese, you must use the adverbial form すごく to modify another adjective.

  • Using とても or すごく with a negative to mean 'not very'.

    すごく寒くないです。
    あまり寒くないです。

    To say 'not very,' you should use あまり with a negative verb or adjective. Neither とても nor すごく are used with simple negatives to mean 'not very'; they are used to intensify positive states.

How It Connects

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とても/すごくLevel 2Very

Learn This First

To use 'とても' and 'すごく' (meaning 'very'), you need to understand the adjectives they modify. Since these adverbs are placed before adjectives to increase their intensity, familiarity with both い-adjectives and な-adjectives is required. Additionally, a basic grasp of Japanese sentence structure helps in placing these adverbs correctly before the predicate.

Words in This Pattern