Table of Contents

なお, さらに, and おまけに

Some of these words have extra usages, but they really all mean almost the exact same thing.
I’ve attempted to distinguish them but there’s hardly any difference.
Just think about how little difference there is between “Even more”, “Furthermore”, “Additionally” etc. in English.

さらに

Even More

さらに is the generic “Even more” adverb in Japanese. It just means “Even more” or “On top of that”. Its the most common of the ones listed here.

Examples

前よりさらに背が高くなった – Gotten even taller than before.
さらに話せるようになった – Became even more able to speak Japanese.
彼はさらに警官を殴った – And what’s more, he hit the cop.
さらに一年がたった – 1 year more passed. (Implies some had already passed)

おまけに

And on top of that

おまけに means “on top of that”. It can be used with positive or negative things.
However the things linked must be both good or both bad.
Stereotypically, its used for bad things, but this does not need to be the case.
This likes to pair with listing multiple qualities し

Examples

彼女は美人だし、おまけにやさしい – She’s beautiful and on top of that kind.
お金がない。おまけに首になった – I have no money. On top of that I was fired.
最近仕事は忙しい。おまけによるも忙しくなった – Work is busy lately. On top of that nights have become busy too.

なお

Furthermore/In addition (Formal)

なお means “Furthermore” or “In addition to”. Unlike the others here, it tends to be more formal.
As an adverb it means “Even Now” or “Even More”.
However it is most commonly used as a conjunction to add related information.
なお tends to be more formal than just さらに.

As a Conjunction

This is the most common meaning of なお. This adds information after another thought finishes.
It must come at the start of a sentence.
This is very common in the news.

なお、期限は明日までです – In addition, the deadline is tomorrow.
なお、台風に伴う大雨は日本全土に降るもようです – Additionally, it looks like the rain from the typhoon will hit all of Japan.

Even more

No surprises here, basically just like さらに.
Be careful as it is a “true” adverb and does not use に

出来ればなおいい。 – If it’s done, that’s even better.
手伝ってもらえるならなおいい. – If I can get you to help me, that’s even better.
会えば別れる時はなお辛い (大辞泉) – If we meet, then parting will be even harder.

Even Now/Then

This meaning technically means “Still”.
It commonly appears as “今もなお” (Even until now…)
This is still pretty rare though.

今もなお健在だ – Healthy even now.
昼もなお暗い – Even though its noon, its still dark.

なおさら

Even More

なおさら is unsurprisingly a combination of なお and さら。
It’s typically used to express “Even more reason” or “Even more so”.
This can be as a response to someone else, or a result of some natural occurrence.
Tends to be used with “Should” (べき、ほうがいい) or “feeling” type words.

Examples

なおさらにげるべきだ – That’s even more reason to run away.
彼ならなおさらやめるべきだ – If its him there’s even more reason to quit.
風邪がないからなおさら熱く感じる – There’s no wind so it feels even hotter.

Sentences pulled in part from Weblio