Derived as compound ofどう(dō,“how”,question word) +も(mo,“ever, even, also”,particle).[1] Literal meaning is close to“no matter how, howsoever, in all cases”. Idiomatically and semantically used as an intensifier in specific contexts. Compareとても(totemo,“very”).
どうも• (dōmo)
- no matter how,not at all(used with a negative verb)
- どうも理解できない。
- Dōmo rikai dekinai.
- No matter how, I can't understand it. → Ijust can't understand it.
- somehow,something
- どうもこの人の話し方が変だ。
- Dōmo kono hito no hanashikata ga hen da.
- This person's way of talking is strangesomehow. / There'ssomething strange in how this person talks.
- quite,very much
- あの商人はどうもしつこいよね。
- Ano akindo wadōmo shitsukoi yo ne.
- That shopkeeper isquite persistent, isn't he.
どうも• (dōmo)
- (short forどうもありがとう(dōmo arigatō))thanks
- (short forどうもすみません(dōmo sumimasen))sorry,excuse me
Expressions of thanks are given below in rough order of casual to polite. Note thatgozaimasu changes togozaimashita when referring to events in the past.
Normally used in polite Japanese. It also adds emphasis, similar to "very" in English.[4]
- ^Shōgaku Tosho (1988),国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese),Tōkyō:Shogakukan,→ISBN
- ^NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998),NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese),Tokyo:NHK Publishing, Inc.,→ISBN
- ^Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006),大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition,Tokyo:Sanseidō,→ISBN
- ^“Archived copy”, in(Please provide the book title or journal name)[1], 8 June 2021 (last accessed), archived fromthe original on8 June 2021
