いつも means always or usually. It is a JLPT N5 frequency adverb that describes habits and things that are normally true: いつも七時に起きます, “I always get up at seven.” It also has two very useful spin-offs, いつもの (“the usual”) and いつもより (“than usual”), which you will hear every day in Japan.
いつも = いつ ("when") + も ("even, any"). "Whenever you look, it's like this."
What does いつも mean?
いつも tells the listener that something happens every time or is the normal state. It does not have to be literally 100 percent. 私はいつも七時に起きます is true even if you slept in once last month; the point is that seven o’clock is your routine.
Natural English translations:
- always: 父はいつも忙しい — “My dad is always busy”
- usually: いつも電車で行きます — “I usually go by train”
- all the time: 兄はいつもゲームをしている — “My brother plays games all the time”
It also appears in one of the most common set phrases in Japanese: いつもありがとうございます, “thank you, as always.” Shops, colleagues, and friends use it to thank you for your ongoing support, not for one specific favour.
How to form いつも
いつも is an adverb, so it needs no particle and does not change form. Put it before the part of the sentence it describes, usually after the topic.
- With a verb: いつも七時に起きる
- With an adjective: いつも忙しい, いつも元気だ
- With ている for a repeated activity: いつも本を読んでいる
- Before a noun, add の: いつもの店 (“the usual shop”), いつもの時間 (“the usual time”)
- For comparison, add より: いつもより早い (“earlier than usual”)
Word order is flexible. 私はいつも七時に起きます and いつも私は七時に起きます are both correct; the first is more common.
When is いつも used?
- Daily routines: what time you wake up, how you get to work
- Describing people: someone who is always late, always cheerful, always busy
- Past habits: with the past tense, いつも describes something you used to do regularly: 子どものとき、いつも公園で遊びました
- Noticing a change: いつもより tells you today is different from normal
- Gratitude: いつもありがとう / いつもありがとうございます
It is neutral in register and works in both casual and polite speech. In the present tense, a verb with いつも is automatically read as a habit, not a single future action.
いつも example sentences
私はいつも七時に起きます。
I always get up at seven.
父はいつも忙しいです。
My dad is always busy.
いつもこの店でコーヒーを飲みます。
I always get my coffee at this café.
子どものとき、いつも公園で遊びました。
When I was a kid, I always played in the park.
兄はいつもテレビを見ています。
My older brother is always watching TV.
今日はいつもより寒いですね。
It's colder than usual today, isn't it?
いつもの電車に乗りました。
I took my usual train.
Nuance of いつも
いつも sits at the top of the Japanese frequency scale:
Because it is the strongest word on the scale, いつも can carry a hint of complaint when it describes other people: 田中さんはいつも遅れる, “Tanaka is always late,” sounds just as annoyed as the English.
With ている, いつも often describes a repeated activity rather than a single moment: 妹はいつも歌っている means your sister is always singing, not that she is singing right now.
Be careful with negatives. いつも + a negative verb means “habitually doesn’t,” not “not always”: 彼はいつも朝ご飯を食べない = “He never eats breakfast (he always skips it).” To say something never happened at all, Japanese prefers ぜんぜん〜ない.
いつ, いつも, いつでも: いつ asks "when?" (いつ来ますか). いつも means "always." いつでも means "any time" (いつでもいいです, "any time is fine"). One extra syllable changes the meaning completely.
いつも vs よく
If you want to say “I go there a lot,” よく行きます is more natural than いつも行きます, which would suggest you go every single time you have the chance. Use いつも for fixed routines and よく for frequent but flexible habits.
Common mistakes with いつも
Before a noun, いつも needs の. Without it, the sentence reads as "let's always meet at a shop."
"Any time is fine" is いつでも. いつもいいです sounds like "it's always good."
"Than usual" is いつもより. いつも itself takes no particle when used as an adverb.
Is いつも on the JLPT?
Yes. いつも is N5 vocabulary that appears constantly in reading and listening, usually in texts about someone's daily routine.
You should be able to:
- Rank いつも, よく, ときどき, and あまり〜ない by frequency
- Understand いつもより as "than usual" and spot what changed
- Tell いつ, いつも, and いつでも apart
A classic listening question: a speaker says いつもはバスで行きますが、今日は歩いて行きます. The question asks how they are going today. いつも marks the normal habit, and the answer is the exception.
Practice questions for いつも
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いつも十一時に寝ます。 — I always go to bed at eleven.
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いつもの喫茶店で会いましょう。 — Let's meet at the usual café.
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今日は電車がいつもより込んでいます。 — The train is more crowded than usual today.
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学生のとき、いつも図書館で勉強しました。 — When I was a student, I always studied at the library.
Learning path for いつも
Related grammar to review next
- ている — pairs with いつも to describe something a person is always doing.
- とき — sets the time frame for past habits: 子どものとき、いつも〜.
- あまり～ない — the low end of the frequency scale that starts with いつも.
- ぜんぜん～ない — “not at all,” the word to use for “never” instead of いつも + negative.
- は〜より〜です — the comparison pattern behind いつもより.
Learn いつも with Hane
Hane builds いつも into routine sentences you actually say, and quizzes you on いつも, よく, and ときどき until the scale feels automatic. Start with Hane.
FAQ about いつも
What does いつも (itsumo) mean in Japanese?
いつも (itsumo) means “always or usually”. It is JLPT N5 grammar. いつも tells the listener that something happens every time or is the normal state. It does not have to be literally 100 percent. 私はいつも七時に起きます is true even if you slept in once last month; the point is that seven o'clock is your routine.
How do you form いつも (itsumo)?
いつも is an adverb, so it needs no particle and does not change form. Put it before the part of the sentence it describes, usually after the topic.
What is the difference between いつも and よく?
いつも: always, every time. よく: often.
What is an example sentence with いつも (itsumo)?
私はいつも七時に起きます。 — I always get up at seven.