ずっと – Meaning, how to use it, Difference between other Words

The meaning of ずっと is continuously, the whole time, and can be used in several different situations.

The Meaning of ずっと

1. ずっと means some state, such as an amount of time or distance to continue uninterrupted.
2. ずっと also means there is a huge difference between two things
3. When ずっと is used with time expressions it means a long time. When used with the distance it means far.

Translating ずっと from Japanese to English

Depending on if you are talking about time, distance, or some other difference between two things, several different words can be used.

• continuously
• the whole time
• ever since
• straight
• for a long time
• all the way from
• forever

How to Visualize ずっと

You can think of ずっと as a long line. This long line separates things. The length of this line can represent time, distance, or any difference between the two things.

Specific Situations when to use ずっと

Comparing the Difference Between Things

When comparing two things, ずっと means one of those things are greatly different. It can be used to explain a great difference in size, distance, time, and so on.

Continuing Uninterrupted

ずっと also is used when you want to explain something that continued for a long period of time. So, for example, if you want to say you slept all night without waking up you would use ずっと.

Using ずっと to explain distance, you could talk about a river for example that is very long and stretched all the way from point A to point B.

Far away, Long ago or Far into the Future

Also when talking about something that happened a really long time ago, or that is a great distance away you would use ずっと.

How is ずっと used in a sentence

このほうがずっと大おおきい
This one is much bigger

それよりずっと以前いぜんの話はなしだ
it happened much longer before that

駅えきは学校がっこうのずっと先さきにある
The train station is way straight past the school

ずっと寝ねている
I was sleeping the whole time

ずっと待まっている
I was waiting from the beginning
I was waiting the whole time

The Difference between ずっと and Similar Words

遥はるかに – far away, in the distance

遥かに explains far distances. Like ずっと, it can also be used to explain time or the difference between two things. 

The difference though is that 遥かに does not explain continuing states. The sentence below would not be possible.

✖遥かに寝ている

いつまでも – always

If you want to say always, evermore, or indefinitely you can also say いつでも. These two words in that situation would mean the same things.

初はじめから – From the Beginning

初めから means from the beginning. ずっと also can mean from the beginning or from an indefinite, long time ago.

The difference is that 初めから tells you there was some starting point. ずっと can mean that but it is more ambiguous.

Resources

• Weblio 
• More Vocabulary from Japanese Universe