あんまり versus あまり

Question

What is the difference between あんまり and あまり? Please also provide me with some examples.

This really seems to delve down to personal preference in my experience, however the more accepted way to say it is あまり — The Wandering Coder, Jul 6, 2015 at 14:03

eltonjohn · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-06 14:16:23Z

11

They can be used interchangeably, but あんまり sounds a bit more colloquial than あまり.

Examples:

あまり関{かん}心{しん}がありません = "I'm not particularly interested"

あんまり興{きょう}味{み}がないね = "I'm not particularly interested"

* Added *

I can think of only one situation where あんまり is appropriate and あまり is not, namely

それは、あんまりだ = That's too much / too hideous / too ridiculous etc.

We don't say それは、あまりだ

answered Jul 6, 2015 at 14:07

eltonjohn

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That last one does seem to be more dialect driven. I have heard それは、あまりやな～ before. However it could have been that the dialect toned down the ん sound enough that it was difficult to notice.
– The Wandering Coder
Jul 6, 2015 at 18:36
< それは、あまりやな～> That's plausible, but I can't (dis)confirm, as I do not live in Kansai area. Probably @Choko can share her wisdom here.
– eltonjohn
Jul 7, 2015 at 2:40
2

関西でも、「That's too much.」「それは、ひどい。」という意味で、「それは、あまりやな～」ということはありません。やはり、「あんまり」を使います。「[そら]{HH}、[あんまりやな]{HHHHLH}。」と聞くと、「それはひどい。」または、「それは、いまいちだ。」のどちらかの意味かな、と思います。
– chocolate ♦
Jul 8, 2015 at 13:12
だったら、「ん」が聞きにくかったかな？
– The Wandering Coder
Jul 9, 2015 at 11:14

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