93828
I am having difficulty understanding the difference between とても and なかなか. The
English meaning is the same, so are they interchangeable?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-24T09:15:26.727
93823
2022-03-25T11:19:39.423
50886
question
word-choice
Difference between とても and なかなか
First, they are not of the same language level, とても is polite, なかなか is casual.

とても is "very".

なかなか is "very" with the nuance of "not bad".

If you say とても美味しい to someone who cooked something, they're pleased. If you
say なかなか美味しい, they'll be mad because it'll be taken as if you're looking down
on them - "Not too bad for somebody like you" kinda thing.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-24T13:38:13.523
93826
2022-03-25T11:19:39.423
2022-03-25T11:19:39.423
30123
1065
93823
answer
As a native Japanese speaker I think it's weird "とても" and "なかなか" seem to be
the same in English.

That's because "とても" suggestion a different degree (either higher or lower)
than what I expected and also "なかなか" sounds more or less equal to what I
expected.

When the amount or value compared with what you expected is high, you should
use "とても" but when the amount or value almost equals or is a little more or
less than what you expected, you should use "なかなか".

I think like this. This explanation is based on my life in Japan for more than
35 years.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-24T14:04:50.413
93828
2022-03-24T16:26:50.883
2022-03-24T16:26:50.883
30454
93823
answer
As a supplement to the existing answers, I would say なかなか would be closer to
the English words 'pretty', 'rather', or 'quite' than 'very' which とても
matches.

I have an example that may make this difference clearer, though it may be an
odd example; in the forging minigame in Dragon Quest XI, a well-made item can
turn out ちょっといい which is +1, なかなかいい which is +2, or とてもいい which is +3.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-24T23:52:26.947
93832
2022-03-24T23:52:26.947
9971
93823
answer