This page contains a table including the following: Japanese Adjectives and adverbs. Try to memorize the way they're used because they're very important in communication, and might be very helpful to convey your most important expressions. Make sure to check our Learn Japanese page, which contains several lessons that might help you in your learning process. |
An adjective is a word whose main role is to modify a noun or pronoun, giving more information about the noun or pronoun's definition. Some examples are: That is a green tree. I met a very old man. However in Japanese it's a bit different.
There are three types of words that can be considered to be adjectives in Japanese:
Adjectival verbs (Japanese: 形容詞, keiyōshi, "(true) adjective"), or i-adjectives
These have a conjugating ending -i which can become, for example, past or negative. For example, atsui (暑い) "hot":
暑い日 (Atsui hi) ("a hot day")
今日は暑い。(Kyō wa atsui.) ("Today is hot.")
Adjectival nouns (形容動詞, keiyō-dōshi, "adjectival verb"[1]), or na-adjectives.
These attach to a form of the copula, which then inflects. For example, hen (変) "strange":
変な人 (Hen na hito) ("a strange person")
彼は変だ。(Kare wa hen da.) ("he is strange.")
attributives (連体詞, rentaishi, "attributive")
These may only occur before nouns, not in a predicative position. They are various in derivation and word class. For example, ōki na (大きな) "big":
大きなこと(Ōki na koto) ("a big thing").
So Basically Japanese adjectives come in two main forms: "true" and "adjectivial nouns." In some circles they are also known as "i adjectives" and "na adjectives" because those are the suffixes they get when they're followed by a noun. Nevertheless, we can call them "true" and "adjectivial nouns" in this page, here are some examples of both types:
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| True Adjectives | Adjectivial Nouns |
|---|---|
| ii: good | kantan na: easy, as in easy to do |
| yoi: good | raku na: easy, as in an easy situation; comfortable |
| warui: bad | kara na: empty |
| takai: expensive; high; tall | kirei na: pretty; clean |
| yasui: cheap | kechi na: stingy (not generous) |
| hikui: low | binbou na: poor; destitute |
| nagai: long | hinpan na: frequent |
| mijikai: short | benri na: convenient |
| katai: hard | fuben na: inconvenient |
| yawarakai: soft | busaiku na: clumsy; awkward |
| atsui: hot | tanki na: impatient; quick-tempered |
| samui: cold | ganko na: stubborn |
| tsumetai: cold | byouki na: sick |
| hiroi: wide; spacious | genki na: healthy; to be feeling well |
| semai: narrow; cramped | shizen na: natural, proper |
| tsuyoi: strong | yutaka na: full; abundant |
| yowai: weak | anzen na: safe |
| kitsui: strong | kanzen na: perfect |
| abunai: dangerous | |
| akarui: bright | |
| kurai: dark | |
| karui: light | |
| omoi: heavy | |
| furui: old | |
| hayai: fast; early | |
| osoi: slow; late | |
| omoshiroi: interesting |
Here is a list of the most used Japanese adjectives, try to memorize them because they're used very often
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| English | Japanese Adjectives | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Bad | 悪い | warui |
| Beautiful | 美しい | utsukushi i |
| Cheap | 安い | yasui |
| Clean | 汚れのない | yogore nonai |
| Cold | 冷たい | tsumeta i |
| Different | 異なる | kotonaru |
| Difficult | 困難 | konnan |
| Early | 早く | hayaku |
| Easy | 簡単な | kantan na |
| Friendly | フレンドリー | furendori^ |
| Good | 良い | yoi |
| Heavy | 重い | omoi |
| Important | 重要な | juuyouna |
| Married | 結婚 | kekkon |
| Natural | 自然 | shizen |
| Nice | 素敵な | suteki na |
| Open | 開く | hiraku |
| Polite | 丁寧 | teinei |
| Poor | 貧しい | mazushii |
| Rich | リッチ | ricchi |
| Sad | 悲しい | kanashi i |
| Simple | 単純な | tanjunna |
| Slow | ゆっくりした | yukkurishita |
| Small | 小さな | chiisa na |
| Sweet | 甘い | amai |
| Tall | 背が高い | sega takai |
| Warm | 暖かい | atataka i |
| Well | 上手に | jouzu ni |
| Worse | 悪化 | akka |
| Worst | 最悪 | saiaku |
| Wrong | 間違った | machigatta |
I hope the content of this page was useful to you, and that you learned some Japanese Adjectives. Try to memorize them to be able to use them in your daily conversation. Make sure to check our Learn Japanese page, which contains several lessons that might help you in your learning process.
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