いよいよ: 'At Last' / 'More and More' (The Critical Moment Arrives)
"At last, the moment is here"
Use いよいよ when something long-anticipated (or long-dreaded) has finally arrived.
いよいよ賭け金を回収するときがきました。
いよいよ かけきんを かいしゅうする ときが きました。
At last, the time has come to collect the winnings.
Matches the practice-question pattern — the anticipated moment has arrived.
いよいよという時になって、彼は怖じ気付いた。
いよいよ という ときに なって、かれは おじけづいた。
Just when the critical moment finally arrived, he got cold feet.
いよいよという時 = 'the moment of truth' — often paired with getting nervous.
Form: a plain adverb, no conjugation
いよいよ never changes shape. It simply attaches in front of the verb, adjective, or clause it emphasizes:
| Position | Example |
|---|---|
| Before a verb | いよいよ + 始まる → いよいよ始まる（いよいよ はじまる） |
| Before a noun phrase + の時 | いよいよ + という時 → いよいよという時（いよいよ という とき） |
| Before a state/description | いよいよ + 薄暮 → いよいよ薄暮（いよいよ はくぼ） |
やったんは、いよいよ明日から一人暮らしを始める。
やったんは、いよいよ あした から ひとりぐらしを はじめる。
Starting tomorrow, Yattan is finally living on his own.
いよいよ signals the long-planned day has arrived.
"More and more" — intensifying, not just arriving
いよいよ also describes something getting more and more intense, without necessarily marking a fixed arrival point — closer to "increasingly" or "all the more."
いよいよ薄暮、もうすぐ宵闇。
いよいよ はくぼ、もうすぐ よいやみ。
Dusk deepens more and more — soon it will be full night darkness.
No single 'arrival'; describes a state intensifying step by step.
Don't confuse いよいよ with とうとう ("finally, after a long time, [something happened/didn't happen]") — とうとう looks back at a long process now concluded, while いよいよ looks forward, at the tension of the moment arriving or intensifying right now.
The short version
- いよいよ = "at last / finally" (the anticipated moment arrives) or "more and more" (intensifying).
- Attaches to: nothing — it's an adverb, placed before the verb/clause it modifies.
- Nuance/register: often carries tension or anticipation — a big or nerve-wracking moment.
- Don't confuse with: とうとう (looks back at a finished process, not forward at an arriving/intensifying one).
Practice it
Choose いよいよ to mark the anticipated moment finally arriving or intensifying.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
＿＿＿賭け金を回収するときがきました。
Where いよいよ fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜ます · N5 — 〜ます is the polite verb ending. Learn ます (non-past), ません (negative), ました (past), and ませんでした (past negative), how to build the stem, and when to be polite.
- 〜について · N3 — 〜について marks the topic you talk, think, or write about: 日本の文化について話す. Learn the form, the についての + noun pattern, についても, and how it differs from に関して.
More N2 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜かのよう — 〜かのよう means 'as if' or 'as though' — describing something that looks, sounds, or behaves like something it isn't, often paired with まるで for emphasis. Attaches after the plain form of a verb or adjective; literary/formal in tone.
- 〜からすると — 〜からすると means 'judging from / based on' — you draw a conclusion or impression from a stated piece of evidence or standpoint. Attaches after a noun; the main clause is usually a guess (〜だろう/〜ようだ), not a stated fact.
- 〜ものか — 〜ものか turns a plain verb or adjective into a defiant rhetorical question meaning 'as if I would!' or 'no way!' — a strong, emotional refusal, not a real question.
- 〜ものの — 〜ものの is a formal conjunction meaning 'although / even though' — it admits one fact, then pivots to a contradicting reality, as in パーティーに行くことにしたものの、気が進まない.
- もっとも — もっとも placed before an adjective marks the superlative — 'the most': 日本でもっとも広い干潟 ('Japan's widest tidal flat'). The same word can also open a sentence as a conjunction meaning 'that said, however.'
- もう少しで〜ところだった — もう少しで pairs with 〜ところだった to mean 'almost / nearly' happened but didn't: もう少しで電車に乗り遅れるところだった ('I nearly missed the train'). Marks a close call that was narrowly avoided.