jp_adjectives.pdf

Japanese Adjectives

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/jp_adjectives.pdf

Japanese Adjectives

Introduction

This is a companion tutorial to my Japanese Verbs, and I trust that it will also become a

concise and convenient resource for those learning or reviewing Japanese.

Please have an English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionary and notebook handy as you

study. As new words are introduced, use your dictionary to learn or check their meanings,

and make a word list in your notebook to add new vocabulary to. It's a proven fact that

the process of looking up and writing vocabulary will help the learning process, along

with regular reviewing.

Please see A Bit of the Language for pronunciation guides and other relevant information

about basic Japanese.

Please note: In order to avoid technical explanations, only the simplest and most general

translations of words are given. Also, romaji (romanized Japanese words) used herein

are written in their true, romanized form: elongated vowels are shown as such, etc.

¨ 2003 - 2006 Tim R. Matheson

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Japanese Adjectives 2

2. Plain Positive and Plain Negative 7

3. Colors 12

4. Adjectives suki, kirai, hoshii, jouzu and heta 14

5. Adverbial Forms 17

6. Conditional Forms 18

7. The Te Form + mo 18

8. Plain Past 19

9. Adjectives with sou and sugiru 20

10. Adjective Modifiers 22

Japanese Adjectives

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/jp_adjectives.pdf

1. Introduction to Japanese Adjectives

Japanese adjectives come in two basic flavors: ÐtrueÑ and Ðquasi.Ñ In some circles they

are also known as Ði adjectivesÑ and Ðna adjectivesÑ because those are the suffixes they

get when they're followed by a noun. Nevertheless, I prefer calling them ÐtrueÑ and

ÐquasiÑ and will do so throughout these lessons.

Some examples of true adjectives are:

いい (ii) good

· 良い (yoi) good

· 悪い (warui) bad

· 高い (takai) expensive; high; tall

· 安い (yasui) cheap

低い (hikui) low

· 長い (nagai) long

短い (mijikai) short

· 硬い (katai) hard

· 柔らかい (yawarakai) soft

· 晳い (atsui) hot (used for weather or room temperature)

· 熱い (atsui) hot (used for tangible objects: food, drinks, etc.)

寒い (samui) cold (used for weather or room temperature)

· 冷たい (tsumetai) cold (used for tangible objects, food, drinks, and

unfriendly feelings between people: a cold look, a cold

reply, etc.)

· 広い (hiroi) wide; spacious

狭い (semai) narrow; cramped

· 強い (tsuyoi) strong (used for things which are powerful or sturdy,

etc.)

弱い (yowai) weak (used for the opposite of the above)

· きつい (kitsui) strong (usually used for Ðtoo strong,Ñ as in flavors,

medicines, personalities, etc.)

· 危ない (abunai) dangerous

明るい (akarui) bright

· 晶い (kurai) dark

軽い (karui) light

· 重い (omoi) heavy

· 古い (furui) old (not used with people or animals)

· 早い（速い） (hayai) fast; early

· 遅い (osoi) slow; late

面白い (omoshiroi) interesting

Many true adjectives end in shii:

おいしい (oishii) delicious

· 難しい (muzukashii) difficult

美しい (utsukushii) beautiful

Japanese Adjectives

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/jp_adjectives.pdf

嬉しい (ureshii) happy

· 悲しい (kanashii) sad

苦しい (kurushii) hard; painful

· 忙しい (isogashii) busy (This is Japan's most popular adjective Ï you'll

hear it used several times an hour.)

· 厳しい (kibishii) strict; severe

喧しい (yakamashii) noisy

· 眩しい (mabushii) too bright; glaring

寂しい (sabishii) lonely; desolate

· 恥ずかしい (hazukashii) ashamed; shy

· 新しい (atarashii) new

The basic colors are often used as true adjectives:

· 赤い (akai) red

· 青い (aoi) blue

· 黄色い (kiiroi) yellow

And now let's look at some good quasi-adjectives:

楽な (raku na) easy, as in an easy situation; comfortable

· 空な (kara na) empty

· きれいな (kirei na) pretty; clean

· けちな (kechi na) stingy (not generous)

· 貧乏な (binbou na) poor; destitute

頻繁な (hinpan na) frequent

· 便利な (benri na) convenient

不便な (fuben na) inconvenient

· 不細工な (busaiku na) clumsy; awkward

短気な (tanki na) impatient; quick-tempered

· 頑固な (ganko na) stubborn

· 病気な (byouki na) sick

· 元気な (genki na) healthy; to be feeling well

· 当然な (shizen na) natural, proper

豊かな (yutaka na) full; abundant

· 安全な (anzen na) safe

完全な (kanzen na) perfect

As you can see, there are quasis that end in i when the na is omitted, which is why I

avoid calling them Ði adjectivesÑ and Ðna adjectives.Ñ It could be too confusing at first.

· 楽しい (tanoshii) fun

白い (shiroi) white

· 黒い (kuroi) black

· 簡単な (kantan na) easy, as in easy to do

Japanese Adjectives

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/jp_adjectives.pdf

There are even a few adjectives that can be used as true or quasi, like:

· 大きい・大きな (ookii / oki na) big

· 小さい・小さな (chiisai / chiisa na) small

Many quasi-adjectives are made by adding teki na to a noun:

科学的な (kagakuteki na) scientific

· 歴史的な (rekishiteki na) historical

一般的な (ippanteki na) general

· 楽観的な (rakkanteki na) optimistic

It's time for some examples. From a grammatical angle, adjective use in Japanese is very

similar to English. With both true and quasi you include the final i or na when placing

them before a noun. Here are some with true adjectives:

それはいい曓です。

(Sore wa ii hon desu.)

That's a good book.

どうぞ、冷たい牛乳を飲んでください。

(Douzo, tsumetai gyuunyuu o nonde kudasai.)

Please, have some cold milk.

重い箱ですね。

(Omoi hako desu ne.)

This is a heavy box, isn't it. (with dropping intonation)

And here are some examples using quasi-adjectives:

それはきれいな犬です。

(Sore wa kirei na inu desu.)

That's a pretty dog.

彼は頑固な人です。

(Kare wa ganko na hito desu.)

He's a stubborn person.

一番簡単な方法を教えてあげる。

(Ichiban kantan na houhou o oshiete ageru.)

I'll show you the easiest way to do it.

Now, when a true adjective comes after the noun it modifies it usually does not change:

その曓はいいですよ。

(Sono hon wa ii desu yo.)

That book is good.

この牛乳は冷たいですか。

(Kono gyuunyuu wa tsumetai desu ka.)

Is this milk cold?

· 国際的な (kokusaiteki na) international

Japanese Adjectives

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/jp_adjectives.pdf

この箱は重いですね。

(Kono hako wa omoi desu ne.)

This box is heavy, isn't it. (with dropping intonation)

But, when a quasi-adjective comes after its noun, leave off the na:

その犬はきれいですね。

(Sono inu wa kirei desu ne.)

That dog is pretty, isn't it. (with dropping intonation)

彼は頑固！

(Kare wa ganko!)

He's stubborn!

これは簡単。

(Kore wa kantan.)

This is easy.

Now it's time to introduce the quirks. First, there are some strange quasi- (quasi-quasi?)

adjectives that, according to the dictionaries and grammar books, use the multi-purpose

no particle instead of na:

特定の (tokutei no) specific

· 不明の (fumei no) unclear; vague

However, I have heard native speakers use na with these. When I ask about the

discrepancy, I am told that na is normal. So, while it's true that the books say no, and

official documents use no, in everyday ÐunofficialÑ life it is perfectly acceptable Ï even

preferred Ï to use na, so don't concern yourself with it until you have to be official.

There are, however, colors which use no and never na after them when modifying a

noun:

· 緑の傘 (midori no kasa) a green umbrella

It's only natural to think that adjectives which exist in English should exist in Japanese.

Sure, most do, but many don't. In these, the Ðadjectival ideaÑ is conveyed through verbs.

Some examples of these are:

お腹（が）すいた (o-naka [ga] suita) hungry

· のど（が）渇いた (nodo [ga] kawaita) thirsty

Naka literally means Ðmiddle,Ñ and suku means Ðto be empty,Ñ so you're saying Ðmy

middle is emptyÑ when you put these together. Nodo is Ðthroat,Ñ and kawaku means Ðto

be dry,Ñ so these together equal ÐI'm thirsty.Ñ Here, the ta form of the verb is used for

the present, which will be a bit confusing to beginners because this form is normally used

for the plain past. Just do what I do: think of this as Ða verb in an adjective's role,Ñ and,

as such, the rules slightly change.

· 特別の (tokubetsu no) special

紫の花 (murasaki no hana) a purple flower

· ねずみ色の帽子 (nezumiiro no boushi) a gray hat

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