Adjectives
Introduction
There are three types of adjectives in Japanese, i-adjectives, na-adjectives and no-adjectives. The rules for linking adjectives and nouns, and adjective conjugation differ depending on the type of adjective. Adjectives can come before nouns or before the linking verb です (desu). There are also specific rules for linking multiple adjectives together.
i-adjectives
I-adjectives can be easily recognized because they end with the vowel い (i), such as kawaii (cute), tsuyoi (strong), and takai (expensive). Some adjectives look like i-adjectives, but are actually na-adjectives. Some common examples being kirei (beautiful), and kirai (dislike). There are others, but they tend to be more rare and less useful vocabulary words.
When using i-adjectives they can go 1) before nouns or 2) after nouns, but before the linking verb desu as shown in image below
*We cannot use i-adjectives with the the copula だ (da), but they can be used with the copula です (desu)
Conjugation of i-adjective
In order to conjugate i-adjectives, we need to change the ending い vowel depending on which tense we are trying to convey as shown below in the chart
Formal Speech
Base Form | Negative (Formal) | Past (Formal) |
|---|---|---|
kawaii (cute) | kawaikuarimasen (not cute) | kawaikatta desu (was cute) |
tsuyoi (strong) | tsuyokuarimasen (not strong) | tsuyokatta desu (was strong) |
takai (expensive) | takakuarimasen (not expensive) | takakatta desu (was expensive) |
Na Adjectives
Na adjectives are adjectives that don’t end with the vowel い (i) with some exception, such as kirei (beautiful) and kirai (dislike), among others as mentioned above. Some common na-adjectives include genki (energetic), suki (like), and daijoubu (alright/OK/safe).
When using no-adjectives, we need to place the particle な (na) between the adjective and the noun. Alternatively, we can place na-adjective after after a noun, but before the linking verb (desu) without na
Please see the image below for examples
Conjugation of Na-adjectives
Unlike i-adjectives, we do not change the ending of na-adjective, but instead change the form of the linking verb ‘desu’ and use the negative suffix ja arimasen/ja nai as shown in the table below
Formal Speech
Base Form | Negative (Informal) | Past (Informal) |
|---|---|---|
genki (energetic) | genki ja arimasen (not energetic) | genki deshita (was energetic) |
suki (like) | suki ja arimasen (not like) | suki deshita (liked) |
daijoubu (alright/OK/safe) | daijoubu ja arimasen (not alright/OK/safe) | daijoubu deshita (was alright/OK/safe) |
No Adjectives
No adjectives are a special nouns that can function like adjectives in certain conditions. They look like na-adjectives, so they cannot be instantly recognized by their word structure. To use no-adjectives we need to simply place the particle の (no) between the no-adjective and noun. Unlike na-adjectives and i-adjectives, we cannot place no-adjectives after the main noun in the sentence.
Not all nouns can double as no-adjectives, so it’s important to gradually learn them when studying nouns. Most Japanese-English language dictionaries will include tags that show which nouns can also function as no-adjectives.
Irregular Adjective いい (ii)
The adjective いい (ii) [good/fine/nice] is considered an irregular adjective because it doesn’t follow the i-adjective regular patterns. We never conjugate it as いくない (ikunai) or いかった (ikatta). First, we need to change it into the equivalent adjective 良い (yoi), and then we can conjugate it like a normal i-adjective.
Adverbs
We can easily convert i-adjectives and na-adjectives into adverbs using the following procedure:
For i-adjectives: drop the adjective’s final い (i) and add く (ku)
For na-adjectives: add に (ni) after the na-adjective
With this simply change, our adjectives can become more useful and flexible in communication
Summary
I-adjectives
Placement: 1) before a noun or 2) after a noun but before the linking verb ‘desu’
Conjugation Rules
Present (Negative): remove い (i) and add kuarimasen
Past (Positive): remove い (i) and add かった (katta)
Past (Negative): remove い and add くありませんでした (ku arimasen deshita)
Na-adjectives
Placement: 1) before the noun and the particle suffix な (na) or 2) after the noun but before the linking verb ‘desu’
Conjugation Rules
Present (Negative): add じゃありません (ja arimasen)
Past (Positive): add でした (deshita)
Past (Negative): add じゃありませんでした (ja arimasen deshita)
No Adjectives
Placement: before a noun with the particle suffix の (no)
Adverb Conjugation Rules
i-adjectives: remove い (i) and add く (ku) before the main verb
na-adjectives: add に (ni) after the adjective and before the main verb
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