Lesson 31 of 126
The lesson
3.5 Adjectives
Overview
Learn how Japanese adjectives work. This lesson introduces い-adjectives and な-adjectives, how they modify nouns, and how they end sentences in both plain and polite forms.
い-adjectives
い-adjectives end in い in their dictionary form.
Examples of い-adjectives:
い-adjectives come directly before a noun.
They can also be used at the end of sentences without a need to use a verb like “to be”.
Politeness is added with です.
な-adjectives
な-adjectives do not generally end in い (there are some exceptions).
Examples of な-adjectives:
They behave very similarly to nouns. However, when they describe another noun, instead of の they use な.
To form a predicate using the な-adjectives (i.e. to say that something is such-and-such), the copula (です・だ) and its conjugations are used.
In casual speech, if nothing comes after だ, the plain copula can be omitted.
| Tense | Politeness | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | plain | ||
| plain (omitted だ) | |||
| polite | |||
| Past | plain | ||
| polite | I was shy as a child. | ||
| Present - negative | plain | ||
| polite | |||
| Past - negative | plain | ||
| polite | The exam was not easy. |
Dialogue
きょうはあつい暑いひ日です。 あさ、まち町はしずか静かでした。
このまち町はちいさいです小さいですが、べんり便利です。 えき駅はちかいです近いです。 みせ店もおおいです多いです。
ひるごろ昼ごろ、かふぇカフェにいきました行きました。 そのかふぇカフェはきれいで、しずか静かです。 こうひいコーヒーはやすいです安いですが、おいしいです。
Today is a hot day. In the morning, the town was quiet.
This town is small, but convenient. The station is close. There are many shops too.
Around noon, I went to a café. That café is clean and quiet. The coffee is cheap, but tasty.
The shop next door is famous. But it is very expensive.
At night, I went home. The room is quiet and feels good. Today was a good day.
New words
Grammar
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