Japanese grammar · Beginner (A1)
い-adjectives and な-adjectives
The two adjective types before nouns and at the end of a sentence, their negative and past, ～くなる, and comparisons.
Two kinds: い and な
Japanese adjectives come in two groups. い-adjectives end in い and go straight before a noun: (takai, expensive) → (takai hon, an expensive book). な-adjectives add (na) before a noun: (shizuka, quiet) → (shizuka na heya, a quiet room).
At the end of a sentence, both simply take : (kono hon wa takai desu), (kono heya wa shizuka desu). Adjectives don't change for singular, plural or gender.
Watch out for two common な-adjectives that happen to end in い: (kirei, pretty, clean) and (kirai, disliked). Colours are mixed too: (akai, red), (aoi, blue), (shiroi, white) and (kuroi, black) are い-adjectives, but (midori, green) is a noun and takes : (midori no kaban, a green bag).
- 新しい車atarashii kurumaa new car
- きれいな部屋kirei na heyaa nice, clean room
- この部屋は広いです。Kono heya wa hiroi desu.This room is spacious.
- この町は静かです。Kono machi wa shizuka desu.This town is quiet.
Negative and past
い-adjectives change their own ending: drop い and add くない for the negative, かった for the past and くなかった for the past negative, then add to be polite. Never say 高いでした: the past is in the adjective, (takakatta desu).
な-adjectives don't change; they work like nouns with : (ja nai desu), (deshita), (ja nakatta desu).
(ii, good) is irregular: all its other forms come from its twin, (yoi). So “not good” is (yokunai desu) and “it was good” is (yokatta desu).
| Form | (takai) | (ii) | (shizuka) |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | (takai desu) | (ii desu) | (shizuka desu) |
| negative | (takakunai desu) | (yokunai desu) | (shizuka ja nai desu) |
| past | (takakatta desu) | (yokatta desu) | (shizuka deshita) |
| past negative | (takakunakatta desu) | (yokunakatta desu) | (shizuka ja nakatta desu) |
- このラーメンは辛くないです。Kono rāmen wa karakunai desu.This ramen isn't spicy.
- 旅行は楽しかったです。Ryokō wa tanoshikatta desu.The trip was fun.
- 天気はあまりよくなかったです。Tenki wa amari yokunakatta desu.The weather wasn't very good.
Plain forms (A2)
With friends and family, and inside longer sentences, adjectives drop . い-adjectives need nothing else: (takai), (takakunai), (takakatta), (takakunakatta). な-adjectives use the plain forms of (desu): (shizuka da), (shizuka ja nai), (shizuka datta), (shizuka ja nakatta).
In casual speech the (da) is often left out at the end of a sentence, especially in questions: (shizuka?, is it quiet?).
- 昨日は寒かった。Kinō wa samukatta.It was cold yesterday.
- 駅から遠くない。Eki kara tōkunai.It isn't far from the station.
- 前の部屋は静かだった。Mae no heya wa shizuka datta.My old flat was quiet.
Becoming: ～くなる and ～になる
To say that something becomes a certain way, use (naru, to become). い-adjectives change い to く: (atsui, hot) → (atsuku narimasu, it gets hot). な-adjectives and nouns take (ni): (shizuka ni narimasu, it gets quiet), (isha ni narimasu, I'll become a doctor).
In the past, this is how Japanese says that something has changed: (atsuku narimashita, it's got hot). With (suru, to make) instead of なる, you make something a certain way: (heya o kirei ni shimasu, I'll tidy the room).
- 暑くなりましたね。Atsuku narimashita ne.It's got hot, hasn't it?
- 部屋がきれいになりました。Heya ga kirei ni narimashita.The room is nice and clean now.
- 来年、大学生になります。Rainen, daigakusei ni narimasu.Next year I'll be a university student.
Comparisons
Japanese adjectives have no “-er” or “-est” form. To compare, use (yori, than): AはBより大きいです, “A is bigger than B”. To ask which of two is more, say AとBとどちらが～ですか; the answer uses (no hō, the side of): Aのほうが～です. With friends, becomes (dotchi).
For “the most”, use (ichiban, number one): ～の中で何が一番～ですか, “of …, what is the most …?”. For “not as … as”, use (hodo) with a negative: (kyō wa kinō hodo samukunai desu, today isn't as cold as yesterday).
- 東京は大阪より大きいです。Tōkyō wa Ōsaka yori ōkii desu.Tokyo is bigger than Osaka.
- 電車とバスとどちらが速いですか。Densha to basu to dochira ga hayai desu ka.Which is faster, the train or the bus?
- 電車のほうが速いです。Densha no hō ga hayai desu.The train is faster.
- 果物の中で何が一番好きですか。Kudamono no naka de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka.What fruit do you like best?
- 今日は昨日ほど寒くないです。Kyō wa kinō hodo samukunai desu.Today isn't as cold as yesterday.