This word means 'often' or 'frequently'. You use it to say that something happens many times.
よく + VerbPrimary
よく + Adjective
This word means 'often' or 'frequently'. You use it to say that something happens many times.
週末はよく映画を見ます。
I often watch movies on weekends.
彼は日本語をよく知っていますね。
He knows Japanese well, doesn't he?
最近、忙しくてよく眠れていません。
Lately, I've been busy and haven't been able to sleep well.
子供の時、この公園でよく遊んだ。
When I was a child, I often played in this park.
よく考えもしないで、高価なものを買ってしまった。
Without thinking it through carefully, I ended up buying something expensive.
Imagine a word like a chameleon. It changes its meaning. 'Yoku' can mean 'many times' or 'very well'. You listen to the sentence. You look at the situation. Then you know which meaning is right.
This word is different from others. 'いつも' means 'always'. That is more often than this word. '時々' means 'sometimes'. That is less often. 'たくさん' means 'a lot' of things. This word means 'doing something often' or 'doing something well'. So, 'よく食べる' can mean 'eats often'. It can also mean 'eats well'. But 'たくさん食べる' only means 'eats a lot of food'.
Watch out: People sometimes mix up "yoku" and "ii." "Yoku" means "well" or "often." It tells you more about an action. "Ii" means "good." It tells you more about a thing. For example, say "He plays tennis well." This is "kare wa tenisu o yoku shimasu." Do not say "kare wa tenisu o ii shimasu." Remember, "yoku" is the adverb form of "ii."
Track your mastery
Kumi's KMT system tracks your mastery across kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and reading. Create a free account to use it on 220,000+ concepts.