大幅に（おおはばに、oおhabani）
- drastically

The word 大幅に, read as おおはばに, means "substantially," "significantly," "drastically," or "on a large scale." It describes a considerable change, difference, or extent. It indicates that something has changed or happened to a great degree. The degree of the change is substantial enough to be noteworthy. It often implies a positive or negative impact. It emphasizes the magnitude of the change.

⚫︎売上げが大幅に増加しました。 Translation: Sales increased [substantially]. ⚫︎コストを大幅に削減しました。 Translation: We cut costs [significantly]. ⚫︎大幅に遅刻しました。 Translation: I was [drastically] late.

You use 大幅に when you want to emphasize the extent or degree of a change or difference. It is suitable for describing changes in quantity, quality, size, time, or other measurable aspects. Use it in formal and informal contexts. It's often used with verbs that imply change (e.g., increase, decrease, change, improve, delay).

大幅に is typically written with the kanji 大幅 followed by the hiragana particle に. The kanji 大 means "big" or "large," and 幅 means "width" or "extent." に is the adverbial particle. There are no other ways to write this word. The okurigana (suffix hiragana) is always に.

⚫︎ 著しく (ichijirushiku) - noticeably; remarkably ⚫︎ 大いに (ooi ni) - greatly; much ⚫︎ 非常に (hijō ni) - very; extremely ⚫︎ 劇的に (gekiteki ni) - dramatically ⚫︎ 大きく (ookiku) - largely (a more simple and general term) ⚫︎ 格段に (kakudan ni) - markedly, considerably

⚫︎ わずかに (wazuka ni) - slightly; a little ⚫︎ 少し (sukoshi) - a little ⚫︎ 僅かに (wazuka ni) - slightly, a little ⚫︎ ほんの少し (honno sukoshi) - just a little

この新製品は、性能が大幅に向上しました。 ・Translation: This new product's performance has improved [significantly]. ・Explanation: This sentence highlights a considerable improvement in the new product's performance. The use of 大幅に emphasizes the degree of improvement, making it noteworthy.

地震の影響で、交通機関が大幅に乱れました。 ・Translation: Due to the earthquake, transportation systems were disrupted [drastically]. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the disruption to transportation systems due to the earthquake. The use of 大幅に emphasizes that the disruption was significant and widespread.

The etymology of 大幅に comes from combining the kanji 大 (ō, "large," "big") and 幅 (haba, "width," "extent"). The addition of the particle に changes the noun 大幅 (ōhaba, "large scale," "wide extent") into an adverb. The word originally meant "a wide range" or "a wide extent" but evolved to mean "greatly" or "substantially" in terms of change or degree.