Adjectives

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• What are adjectives?
• The two types of adjectives: i-adjectives | na adjectives
• Adjective construction
• adverbial adjectives

What are adjectives?

An adjective is a word whose main role is to modify a noun or pronoun. Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns by giving more information about them. In other words, adjectives are used to describe a person, a place or a thing:

Let’s see examples in English of how adjectives modify the following nouns:

• flower 
• person

Ex:

1. That is a pretty flower.

2. He is a kind person.

(In the first example, “pretty” is the adjective that is describing or giving more information about the noun ‘flower’. In example 2, “kind” is the adjective since it is describing or giving more information about the noun ‘person’.)

Now let’s take a look at how those same sentences are formed using adjectives in Japanese:

Adjectives in an English sentence	Adjectives in a Japanese sentence
A. That is a pretty flower.	A. sore wa kirei na hana desu.
B. He is a kind person.	B. kare wa shinsetsu na hito desu.

As you can see by looking at the examples above, Japanese adjectives are similar to English adjectives in that they both serve the same purpose which is to modify/describe nouns.

That’s great news since that means that Japanese adjectives are not a hard concept to grasp since they function the same way English adjectives do!

Japanese Adjective Placement:

Japanese adjectives are usually placed right before the word it is describing. The same is true for English adjectives.

Japanese adj:    kireina hana

English adj:      pretty Flower

However, Japanese adjectives are not always placed directly before the noun it is describing, it can be placed after. In English we can place the adjective before or after the word it is describing, for example:

A. It is a pretty flower.
B. The flower is pretty.

The good news is that Japanese adjectives are as flexible as English adjectives in terms of their placement in a sentence in relation to the noun it is describing. So, just like English adjectives, Japanese adjectives can be placed before or after the noun it is describing.

A.   It is a pretty flower.    |    A.  kirei na hana desu. 
B.   The flower is pretty.   |    B.  sono hana wa kirei desu. 

Recap:

Okay, so far so good! We have learned that Japanese adjectives have the same function as English adjectives which is to describe a noun or a pronoun. We also learned that Japanese adjectives have flexible placement within a sentence and therefore can be placed before or after the word it is describing (Just like English adjectives can).

However, there is one major difference between Japanese and English adjectives…There are actually two types of adjectives in the Japanese language. This brings us to the next section!

 

Two types of Japanese adjectives:

The first peculiar thing you’ll learn about Japanese adjectives is that there are two types. You might have a puzzled look on your face since no such thing exists in the English language, but don’t worry, learning about Japanese adjectives and how to conjugate them just requires memorizing a set of rules and few exceptions to those rules.

• The first type of Japanese adjectives are called “i-adjectives” since they end in the vowel (i).

Type 1:	Type 2:
i-adjectives	na-adjectives

• The second type are called “na-adjectives” since they require the suffix (na) when placed before nouns.

Let’s take a look at some examples of (i) & (na) adjectives:

i-adjectives	na-adjectives
ii = good	benri na = convenient
ureshii = happy	genki na = healthy, lively,energetic
isogashii = busy	shinsetsu na = kind

Looking at the above table, you might be thinking to yourself :

“okay, that’s easy enough! i-adjectives end in (i) and na-adjectives end in (na).“

While that is the case 90% of the time, there are some exceptions to that rule.

Tom doesn’t like rule exceptions.

Exceptions:

• Not all adjectives that end in (i) are i-adjectives
  Not all adjectives that end in “i” are i-adjectives. So just because it ends in (i) doesn’t mean it’s an i-adjective, in fact a couple of adjectives that end in (i) are actually na-adjectives.
  For example, the adjective (genki) which means ‘healthy’ ends in (i), but is actually a na-adjective!

• na-adjectives are not always written with the na-ending, however, they are still considered na-adjectives. For example, the adjective (benri) which means (convenient/ Useful) is still a na-adjective even without the -na ending.The rule goes as follows:

  If the na adjective is directly before the noun, then the -na ending must be added to the adjective.

  benri na mise
  a convenient store
  (We added  the -na to the adjective since it comes directly before the noun “store”)

  If the na adjective is not directly before a noun, then you do not add the -na ending to the adjective.

  kono waapuro wa taihen benri desu.
  This word processor is very useful.
  (Here, we did not add the -na ending to adjective “benri” since it is not directly before the noun “word processor”, instead benri comes after the noun, thus we do not need to add the -na ending to our adjective.)

• Watch out for adjectives ending in (ei)
  While it is true that Japanese i-adjectives end in (i), they however, never end in the combination (ei). So if you come across and adjective like “kirei” which means (pretty;clean) remember that it’s automatically disqualified as an i adjective since it ends in (ei).
  
     Q. So, if “kirei” is not an i-adjective, then what is it?
  A. ‘kirei’ is actually a na-adjective, so make sure to add (na)!ex:
  かのじょはきれいなめをしている
  kanojo wa kireina me wo shiteiru.
  She has pretty eyes.

All these exceptions can be confusing when you first start learning about Japanese adjectives, but give yourself time to expand your vocabulary and to become familiar with these exceptions. Until then, here are some tips that will help you identify (i) and (na) adjectives:

General tips to identifying (i) and (na) adjectives

  If the adjective ends in double “i” (ii), then it’s definitely an i-adjective:

i-adjectives	Meaning
kanashii	sad
ureshii	happy
ii	good

  If the adjective ends in the consonant (n), (a), (u), or (o) then it’s a na-adjective:

na-adjectives	Meaning
fuben na	inconvenient
shizuka na	quiet
taisetsu na	important

  If the adjective ends in “ei” then it’s a na-adjective):

na-adjectives if ending in ei	Meaning
kirei na	pretty, clean
yuumei na	famous
teinei na	polite

There are na-adjectives that don’t follow any rules or logic, therefore they must be learned the old fashion way, that’s right, through memorization. The good news is that the majority of adjectives in the Japanese language are (i) adjectives, so you won’t be dealing with a large number of na-adjectives.

Below, is a list of na-adjectives for you to memorize.

(Only a few of the na-adjectives listed below are actually used daily in Japan, so don’t stress if you can’t remember them all right away!)

Vocabulary

na adjectives	Meaning
kirei na	pretty
daiji na	valuable, important
genki na	healthy, well, energetic, lively(person)
yuumei na	famous
fushigi na	mysterious
iroiro na	various
hima na	free-time
rippa na	splendid
suki na	favorable
kirai na	unlikeable, unfavorable
hen na	strange
benri na	convenient
taisetsu na	precious
nigiyaka na	lively, busy, bustling(place)
shizuka na	quiet, silent
taihen na	1. immense 2.serious 3. difficult
kekkou na	quite, fairly, well, fine
jouzu na	skilled
heta na	unskilled, poor, bad at
onaji na	same, alike
raku na	easy, comfortable
tanki na	impatient, quick tempered
byouki na	sick, ill
anzen na	safe
kanzen na	perfect
dame na	no good
shitsurei na	rude

Japanese adjective construction:

Now that you are familiar with the two types of adjectives in Japanese, let’s learn how properly use them in a sentence:

i-adjective Construction:

• Place adjective directly before the noun it is modifying

adjective  +   noun

ex:
kawaii      +   onnanoko

example sentences:

1. kanojo wa kawaii onnanoko desu.
She is a pretty girl.

Japanese i-adjectives are as flexible as English adjectives! That means that the adjective can come before or after the noun it is modifying as shown below:

a.  It is a fast car.
b.  The car is fast. 

In example a, the adjective ‘fast’ comes directly before the noun it is modifying which is ‘car‘. In example b, the adjective comes after the noun.
Even though the adjective is placed in different positions in each sentence, both sentences are still grammatically correct in English.  The same case applies to Japanese adjectives. Let’s take a look:

a. hayai kuruma desu.
[It is a fast car.] 

b. Sono kuruma wa hayai desu.
[The car is fast.] 

na-adjective Construction:

• Step 1: Place -na ending after the adjective
• Step 2: Place noun after the na-adjective

adjective   +  na ending   +  noun

ex:
benri         +   na                  +  mise

example sentences:

1.  benri na mise.
     A convenient store.

2.  watashi wa yuumei na haiyuu desu.
I am a famous actor.

3. sore wa taisetsu na tegami desu.
This is an important letter.

 na adjectives require the -na ending when placed before a noun.

To modify or not to modify, that is the question.

When learning about Japanese adjectives it is important that you note that i-adjectives are written the same way every time regardless of whether it’s modifying a noun or not, as shown below:

Let’s use the i-adjective (minikui=ugly) as an example:

Not modifying a noun:
1. That is ugly.
Sore wa minikui desu.

Modifying a noun:
2. That is an ugly house.
Sore wa minikui ie desu.

The adjective ‘minikui’ is written the same way regardless of whether it’s modifying a noun or not. This is the case for all i-adjectives!

na-adjectives on the other hand are written differently depending on whether the na-adjective is directly modifying a noun or not.

Let’s use the na-adjective (kirei=pretty) as an example:

Not modifying a noun
1. This is pretty.
kore wa kirei desu.

Modifying a noun
2. This is a pretty ring.
    kore wa kirei na yubiwa.

Just remember to add the -na suffix to the na-adjective if it is placed directly before the noun it is modifying (As shown in example 2: kirei na). If it’s not directly modifying a noun then leave the na-adjective in it’s basic form known as the dictionary form (As seen in example 1: kirei )

Conjugating Adjectives into the four tenses:

Reference list:

Here come examples of common i-adjectives for you to practice with. They are written in the 4 tenses covered in the video.

Present affirmative	Present negative	Past affirmative	Past negative
takai = is expensive	takakunai =is not expensive	takakatta = was expensive	takaku nakatta = was not expensive
yasui = is cheap	yasuku nai = is not cheap	yasukatta = was cheap	yasuku nakatta = was not cheap
ureshii = is happy	ureshiku nai = is not happy	ureshikatta = was happy	ureshiku nakatta = was not happy
oishii = is delicious	oishiku nai = is not delicious	oishikatta = was delicious	oishiku nakatta = was not delicious
mazui = is bad tasting	mazuku nai = is not bad tasting	mazukatta = was bad tasting	mazuku nakatta = was not bad tasting
kanashii = is sad	kanashiku nai = is not sad	kanashikatta = was sad	kanashiku nakatta = was not sad
atsui = is hot	atsuku nai = is not hot	atsukatta = was hot	atsuku nakatta = was not hot
samui = is cold	samuku nai = is not cold	samukatta = was cold	samuku nakatta = was not cold
chiisai = is small	chiisaku nai = is not small	chiisakatta = was small	chiisaku nakatta = was not small
ookii = is big	ookiku nai = is not big	ookikatta = was big	ookiku nakatta = was not big
akarui= is bright	akaruku nai = is not bright	akarukatta = was bright	akaruku nakatta= was not bright
kurai = is dark	kuraku nai = is not dark	kurakatta= was dark	kuraku nakatta = was not bright
isogashii = is busy	isogashiku nai = is not busy	isogashikatta = was busy	isogashiku nakatta = was not busy
tanoshii = is fun	tanoshiku nai = is not fun	tanoshikatta = was fun	tanoshiku nakatta = was not fun
hayai = is fast	hayaku nai = is not fast	hayakatta = was fast	hayaku nakatta = was not fast
osoi = is slow	osoku nai = is not slow	osokatta = was slow	osoku nakatta= was not slow
ii = is good	yoku nai = is not good	yokatta = was good	yoku nakatta = was not good
warui = is bad	waruku nai = is not bad	warukatta = was bad	waruku nakatta = was not bad
atarashii = is new	atarashiku nai = is not new	atarashikatta = was new	atarashiku nakatta = was not new
furui = is old	furuku nai = is not old	furukatta = was old	furuku nakatta= was not old
yasashii = is easy	yasashiku nai = is not easy	yasashikatta = was easy	yasashiku nakatta = was not easy
Muzukashii= is difficult	Muzukashiku nai = is not difficult	Muzukashikatta= was difficult	Muzukashiku nakatta = was not difficult
omoshiroi = is interesting	omoshiroku nai= is not interesting	omoshirokatta= was interesting	omoshiroku nakatta = was not interesting
tsumaranai = is boring	tsumaranaku nai= is not boring	tsumaranakatta= was boring	tsumaranaku nakatta= was not boring
tooi = is far	tooku nai = is not far	tookatta = was far	tooku nakatta = was not far
Chikai= is close	Chikaku nai = is not close	Chikakatta = was close	Chikaku nakatta= was not close
Itai= is painful	Itaku nai= is not painful	Itakatta = was painful	Itaku nakatta = was not painful
Amai= is sweet	Amaku nai = is not sweet	Amakatta= was sweet	Amaku nakatta= was not sweet
Suppai= is sour	Suppaku nai= is not sour	Suppakatta = was sour	Suppaku nakatta = was not sour
Omoi = is heavy	Omoku nai = is not heavy	Omokatta = was heavy	Omoku nakatta = was not heavy
Karui= is light	Karuku nai = is not light	Karukatta = was light	Karuku nakatta = was not light
Semai = is narrow	Semaku nai = is not narrow	Semakatta = was narrow	Semaku nakatta = was not narrow
hiroi = is wide	hiroku nai = is not wide	Hirokatta = was wide	Hiroku nakatta = was not wide

Adverbial form of Japanese adjectives

Japanese adjectives can be turned into adverbs. In English an Adverb is used to express time (often),  manner (quickly),  place (inside),  degree (very).

Example of Adverbs:

• Slowly = osoku
• Quickly = hayaku
• Quietly = shizuka ni

Note that Adjectives modify nouns (person, place, thing), While Adverbs modify verbs (actions)

How to construct the adverbial form of adjectives
The rules for how to turn and i-adjective into an adverb are different from the rules for turning a na-adjective into an adverb. Let’s go over their individual construction.

For i-adjectiveschange (i) to (ku).

-Let’s practice with the (i) adjective hayai which means ‘quick,fast,early‘

• hayai  first remove the final (i)
• haya + ku  we are left with ‘haya’, now let’s add the (ku) ending.
• hayaku  <—–Done! our i-adjective is now an adverb.

Example sentences:

1. hayaku kinasai.
Come here quickly.

2. Watashi no tomodachi wa itsumo osoku arukimasu.
My friend always walks slowly.

For na-adjectives
Change (na) to (ni)Let’s use the (na) adjective “jouzu na” which means ‘skillful, good at’

• shizuka na
• shizuka
• shizuka ni  <—–Done! our i-adjective is now an adverb.

example sentences:

1. kanojo wa shizuka ni heya ni haitta.
She entered the room quietly.

2. kanojo wa jouzu ni uta wo utaimasu.
She sings well.