How to say "Not" in Japanese

When translating "not" into Japanese, you must choose carefully between ぜんぜん and てんで. In Japanese, ぜんぜん (ぜんぜん (zenzen)) is typically associated with "not at all, completely (used with negative verb)" (Syllabus Level: N5) and represents Adverb. Stronger negation than あまり. On the other hand, てんで (てんで (tende)) maps to "(not) at all, entirely, completely (with negative)" (Syllabus Level: N2) and represents Used with negative expressions to strongly emphasize the complete lack of something or that something is utterly impossible/useless. Informal, often implying exasperation.. A literal translation of "not" can often sound unnatural to native Japanese speakers if mixed up!