Translation guide
The English adverb 'heavily' has several distinct meanings, from physical weight to intensity and manner. This guide organizes them by use, with natural Japanese equivalents.
Describing something done with physical heaviness, pressure, or impact.
The adverbial form of 重い (heavy). Used for physical weight or a heavy feeling.
彼は重く腰を下ろした。
He sat down heavily.
An onomatopoeic adverb for a heavy thud or landing heavily.
彼はどしんとソファに座った。
He plopped down heavily onto the sofa.
Expressing that something is done in large amounts or with strong intensity.
Means 'terribly' or 'severely', often used for negative intensity.
彼はひどく酔っていた。
He was heavily drunk.
Means 'greatly' or 'very much', suitable for positive or neutral intensity.
Means 'considerably' or 'quite', a common intensifier.
彼はかなり飲んだ。
He drank heavily.
Used in formal contexts meaning 'heavily' as in 'repeatedly' or 'strongly', often with verbs like お詫びする (apologize).
Describing something that is thick, abundant, or concentrated.
Means 'plentifully' or 'generously', often used for quantities.
彼は砂糖をたっぷり入れた。
He added sugar heavily.
Adverbial form of 濃い (thick/dense), used for smoke, fog, makeup, etc.
部屋は煙で濃く覆われていた。
The room was heavily filled with smoke.
Means 'closely packed' or 'densely', for things like writing or objects.
Describing breathing, movement, or action done with effort.
Adverbial form of 荒い (rough), used for heavy breathing.
彼は荒く息をしていた。
He was breathing heavily.
Onomatopoeia for wheezing or breathing heavily, often due to exhaustion.
彼はぜいぜい言いながら走った。
He ran while breathing heavily.
Describing movement that is slow and heavy.
Adverb for moving slowly and heavily, like a large animal.
熊がのっそりと動いた。
The bear moved heavily.
Adverbial form of 重々しい (solemn/ponderous), for a heavy atmosphere or movement.
彼は重々しく歩いた。
He walked heavily.
Directly translating 'heavily' as 重く (omoku) only works for physical weight. For intensity, use adverbs like ひどく or かなり. For 'heavily influenced', 大いに影響を受けた is natural, not 重く影響を受けた.
ひどく (hidoku) often implies a negative or severe degree, while かなり (kanari) is neutral and simply means 'considerably'. Use ひどく for 'heavily drunk' (ひどく酔っている) and かなり for 'heavily populated' (かなり人口が多い).
雨がひどく降った。
It rained heavily.
彼は両親にかなり頼っている。
He relies heavily on his parents.
箱は重く積まれていた。
The box was heavily loaded.
彼の意見は大いに影響を受けた。
His opinion was heavily influenced.
I apologize heavily (profusely).
ノートにびっしり書いてある。
It's written heavily (densely) in the notebook.