“iyoiyo” vs. “tōtō“：Which is Used As Positive?
What is the difference between “いよいよ(iyoiyo) and とうとう(tōtō)”? Which is used as a positive meaning? After reading this, you would be answering this question. Let me introduce what their subtle differences are and how you correctly use them such as native speakers today!
いよいよ (iyoiyo)
At last, Finally / 终于 / 드디어 / Cuối cùng
“いよいよ(iyoiyo)” means “At last / Finally” and which has been used as the meaning of “a person has been hoping for something for a long time.”. The basic way to use it is “いよいよ___です。(At last/Finally ___. or ___ at last/finally)”, etc. For instance, “いよいよ私の番です。(It’s my turn at last.)”, etc. The tips for using it are that “いよいよ” is used as “a POSITIVE MEANING”. Everybody could use this both in daily conversations as casual and in business situations as formal such as “いよいよ私の番だね。(It’s my turn at last.)” as casual and “いよいよ私の番です。(It’s my turn at last.)” as formal. In this case, the turn you are LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING. You would feel GOOD because of this.
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Sample
yukaいよいよ待ちに待った夏休みだー！ (Finally, the long-awaited summer vacation has started!) (盼了很久的暑假终于要来了！) (드디어 기다리고 기다리던 여름방학이다!) (Cuối cùng cũng đến kỳ nghỉ hè mà chúng ta đã mong đợi!) (iyoiyo machi machi ni machi matta natsu yasumi da-!)
tatsuyaいよいよ僕の番だね。 (It’s my turn at last.) (终于轮到我了。) (드디어 내 차례구나.) (Cuối cùng cũng đến lượt của tôi.) (iyoiyo boku boku no ban ban dane.)
yukaいよいよ、明日は大学受験なんだ！受かるぞー！ (At last, I have the university entrance exams tomorrow! I’ll pass them!) (明天终于是高考了！我一定会考上的！) (드디어 내일이 대학 수험이야! 합격할테다~!) (Cuối cùng, ngày mai cũng là kỳ thi tuyển sinh đại học! Tôi sẽ thi đậu!) (iyoiyo, ashita wa daigaku juken nanda! ukaru zo-!)
tatsuya自信あるっぽいね！ (You seem like you’re confident of passing them.) (你看起来很有自信！) (자신있어 보이네!) (Bạn có vẻ tự tin nhỉ!) (jishin aru ppoi ne!)
とうとう (tōtō)
Finally / 终于 / 마침내 / Cuối cùng
“とうとう(tōtō)” means “Finally” and which has been used as the meaning of “a person has NOT been hoping for something for a long time.”. The basic way to use it is “とうとう___です。(Finally ___. or ___ finally)”, etc. For instance, “とうとう私の番です。(Finally, it’s my turn.)”, etc. The tips for using it are that “とうとう” is used as “a NEGATIVE MEANING”. Everybody could use this both in daily conversations as casual and in business situations as formal such as “とうとう私の番だね。(Finally, it’s my turn.)” as casual and “とうとう私の番です。(Finally, it’s my turn.)” as formal. In this case, the turn you are NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING RATHER YOU DON’T WANT. You would feel BAD because of this.
Sample
yukaとうとう、もうすぐ夏休みが終わってしまいます。 (Finally, summer vacation is almost over.) (暑假很快就要结束。) (마침내, 곧 여름방학이 끝나버립니다.) (Cuối cùng thì kỳ nghỉ hè cũng sắp kết thúc rồi.) (tōtō, mōsugu natsu yasumi ga owatte shimai masu.)
tatsuyaとうとう僕の番か〜・・・ (Finally, it’s my turn…) (终于轮到我了啊…) (드디어 내 차례인가~…) (Cuối cùng thì cũng đến lượt tôi rồi à~…) (tōtō boku no ban ka~…)
yukaとうとう、明日は大学受験なんだ。はぁ〜。 (At last, I have the university entrance exams tomorrow. Sigh..) (明天就是高考了。唉〜。) (마침내 내일이 대학 수험이야. 하아~) (Cuối cùng, ngày mai cũng là kỳ thi tuyển sinh đại học. Huh ~.) (tōtō, ashita wa daigaku juken nanda. ha~.)
tatsuya大丈夫？勉強してなかったの？ (Are you OK? Haven’t you studied?) (你还好吗？你没学习吗？) (괜찮아? 공부 안했어?) (Bạn ổn chứ? Bạn đã không học bài hả?) (daijōbu? benkyō shite nakatta no?)
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