い and な adjectives
Two kinds, and how each changes.
Japanese has two kinds of adjectives. い-adjectives end in い and change form themselves, a little like verbs. な-adjectives work like nouns: they take です or だ, and な before a noun.
| Kind | い-adjectives | な-adjectives |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | 高い takai, 新しい atarashii, おいしい oishii | 静か shizuka, 元気 genki, 便利 benri |
| Before a noun | 高い山 takai yama | 静かな町 shizuka na machi |
| At the end | 高いです | 静かです |
Telling them apart
Most adjectives that end in い are い-adjectives. A few な-adjectives end in い too, among them きれい kirei "pretty, clean", 嫌い kirai "disliked" and 丁寧 teinei "polite". Other common な-adjectives are 好き suki "liked", 上手 jōzu "good at", 有名 yūmei "famous" and 大丈夫 daijōbu "all right". A word's page shows which kind it is.
Forms
い-adjectives change their ending: drop い and add くない, かった or くなかった. Adding です to any form makes it polite.
| Form | Plain | Polite |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 高い | 高いです |
| Negative | 高くない | 高くないです, 高くありません |
| Past | 高かった | 高かったです |
| Past negative | 高くなかった | 高くなかったです, 高くありませんでした |
な-adjectives change だ and です, as nouns do:
| Form | Plain | Polite |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 静かだ | 静かです |
| Negative | 静かじゃない | 静かじゃないです, 静かではありません |
| Past | 静かだった | 静かでした |
| Past negative | 静かじゃなかった | 静かじゃなかったです, 静かではありませんでした |
いい "good" takes its other forms from an older word, よい: よくない, よかった, よくなかった, よく. Words built on it do the same: かっこいい "cool" becomes かっこよかった.
Before nouns
い-adjectives go straight before a noun. な-adjectives take な.
- Takai yama ni noborimashita.I climbed a high mountain.
- Shizuka na machi ni sunde imasu.I live in a quiet town.
Adverbs and becoming
To describe how something is done, い becomes く and な-adjectives take に. The same forms go before なる "become".
| Adjective | Adverb | Becoming |
|---|---|---|
| 早い hayai, early | 早く hayaku | 早くなる |
| 寒い samui, cold | 寒く samuku | 寒くなる |
| 静か shizuka, quiet | 静かに shizuka ni | 静かになる |
| 元気 genki, well | 元気に genki ni | 元気になる |
- Shizuka ni shite kudasai.Please be quiet.
- Samuku narimashita.It's gotten cold.
Joining adjectives
To say "A and B", い becomes くて; な-adjectives and nouns take で.
- Kono heya wa hirokute akarui desu.This room is big and bright.
- Kono machi wa shizuka de kirei desu.This town is quiet and clean.
Cards from this guide
10 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Adjectives cards.
How does a な-adjective like 静か (quiet) go before a noun?
With な: 静かな町.
い-adjective or な-adjective: which kind is きれい (pretty, clean)?
A な-adjective.
What's the plain negative of 高い (expensive)?
高くない
What's the plain past of 寒い (cold)?
寒かった
What's the plain negative of the な-adjective 静か (quiet)?
静かじゃない (more formally 静かではない)
What's the polite past of 静か (quiet)?
静かでした
What's the plain past of いい (good)?
よかった
How do you turn an い-adjective like 早い (early) into an adverb?
Change い to く: 早く.
What form of 静か (quiet) goes before なる (become)?
静かに: 静かになる.
How do you join 安い (cheap) and 軽い (light) to say 'cheap and light'?
安くて軽い