at last
finally
more and more
Structure
- いよいよ + Phrase
[used when you expect something to happen・very casual]
What’s the difference between いよいよ and とうとう?
Hey @Hadros232232 !
いよいよ has a positive nuance, and it is used with events that the speaker is excited about. とうとう is used when something not too exciting is going to happen soon., and has a slightly ‘negative’ nuance.
いよいよ、俺の番だ！
This sentence has the nuance of ‘It is finally my turn! I have waited so long for this moment!’
とうとう、俺の番だ。
This sentence has the nuance of ‘Ugh, I cant believe it is already my turn already.’ or ‘Ugh, it is finally my turn, how long have I waited to be called…’
We hope that this answers your question!
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Please correct me if I’m wrong, but in this example Japanese voice-over and English translation interpret the Japanese sentence very differently.
いよいよ初出勤か。緊張するな。
It is finally your first day at work. Don’t be nervous.
English translation assumes “don’t” な (な (JLPT N5) | Bunpro).
Japanese voice-over uses intonation for なぁ (for which I don’t see a good point to link on bunpro, but it’s very briefly mentioned in ね (JLPT N5) | Bunpro).
It’s finally my first day at work. I’m kinda nervous.
I think either interpretation could plausibly use いよいよ though.