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ちっとも〜ない details

not one bit — the spoken absolute, and almost always a complaint + write + not

chittomo kakanai

not one bit — the spoken absolute, and almost always a complaint

meaning: not write one bit

毎日まいにち水みずをやってるのに、ちっとも育たそだたない。

mainichi mizu o yatteru noni, chittomo sodatanai.

I water it every day, and it doesn't grow one bit. casual

新あたらしい薬くすりを飲のんでみたけど、ちっともよくならない。

atarashii kusuri o nonde mita kedo, chittomo yoku naranai.

I tried the new medicine, but I'm not getting any better at all. casual

  • ない-form
  • i-adjective stem
  • na-adjective

Examples

not one bit; not in the least — a colloquial denial of any degree at all, and almost always a grievance

毎日まいにち水みずをやってるのに、ちっとも育そだたない。

mainichi mizu o yatteru noni, chittomosodatanai.

I water it every day, and it doesn't grow one bit. casual

新あたらしい薬くすりを飲のんでみたけど、ちっともよくならない。

atarashii kusuri o nonde mita kedo, chittomo yoku naranai.

I tried the new medicine, but I'm not getting any better at all. casual

この仕事しごとは何年なんねんやっても、ちっとも楽らくになりません。

kono shigoto wa nannen yatte mo, chittomo raku ni narimasen.

However many years I do this job, it never gets any easier. neutral

彼かれの冗談じょうだんはちっとも面白おもしろくなかった。

kare no joudan wa chittomo omoshirokunakatta.

His joke wasn't funny in the least. neutral

私わたしの絵えなんて、ちっとも上手じょうずじゃないよ。

watashi no e nante, chittomo jouzu ja nai yo.

My drawing isn't any good at all. casual

Formation

Notes

Colloquial rather than speech-only — it takes ます tails and plain narrative
alike, but business and formal writing swap in 少すこしも or 全まったく. In
speech the copular row is じゃない rather than ではない.

Related patterns

Similar

  • 少しも〜ない

    The same "not even a little" with the register moved — 少しも is neutral and at home in formal writing, ちっとも is colloquial and carries grievance, so ちっとも勉強べんきょうしない grumbles where 少すこしも勉強べんきょうしない reports.

  • 全然〜ない

    全然 is the unmarked spoken absolute and can turn positive (全然ぜんぜん大丈夫だいじょうぶ); ちっとも never goes positive and always carries a note of complaint or disappointment.

Lookalikes

  • ちょっと

    Nearly the same shape and opposite in strength — ちょっと〜ない softens a refusal or a limit into a hedge (ちょっと分わからない, "I couldn't quite say"), while ちっとも〜ない is the absolute zero and hedges nothing.