いよいよ

Japanese

Alternative spellings
愈 愈々 弥々

Etymology

Reduplication of the archaic adverb いよ (iyo, “more and more, increasingly”), shift of いや (iya, “more and more, increasingly”), in turn from the prefix い (i) and the adverb や (ya, “more and more, increasingly”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) いよ​いよ [ìyóꜜìyò] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [ijo̞ijo̞]

Adverb

いよいよ • (iyoiyo) 

1. more and more; increasingly

   Synonym: ますます (masumasu)

2. finally; at last

   Synonym: とうとう (tōtō)

3. indeed; really; no doubt

   Synonym: 確かに (tashika ni)