Skip to content
道Nihongo Path

徐々

じょじょ

gradually; slowly; steadily; little by little

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 痛みは徐々に消えていった。

    いたみはじょじょにきえていった。

    The pain gradually faded away.

  2. 気温が徐々に上がってきた。

    きおんがじょじょにあがってきた。

    The temperature has been climbing steadily.

  3. リハビリを続けて、体力を徐々に回復させた。

    リハビリをつづけて、たいりょくをじょじょにかいふくさせた。

    He kept up the rehabilitation and slowly got his strength back.

  4. 急激な改革ではなく、徐々に制度を改めていくべきだ。

    きゅうげきなかいかくではなく、じょじょにせいどをあらためていくべきだ。

    Rather than abrupt reform, the system should be revised little by little.

Common patterns

徐々に増える
to increase gradually
徐々に慣れる
to get used to it bit by bit
徐々に回復する
to recover gradually

Memory tip

In practice this word appears as 徐々に. It describes a smooth, continuous change and is a shade more formal than だんだん; 次第に is its close written equivalent, while 少しずつ implies countable increments.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does 徐々 mean?