Adjectives - Japanese Grammar

Two Types of Adjectives

Japanese has two types of adjectives, each with different conjugation rules:

Type	Ending	Examples
い-adjectives	End in い	大きい、小さい、高い、安い
な-adjectives	Need な before nouns	元気、静か、きれい、有名

Exception

きれい (beautiful) and 嫌い (dislike) end in い but are な-adjectives!

い-adjectives can directly modify nouns or come at the end of sentences.

Before Nouns

大きい家 ookii ie a big house

おいしい料理 oishii ryouri delicious food

At Sentence End

この本は面白いです。 Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu. This book is interesting.

今日は暑いです。 Kyou wa atsui desu. Today is hot.

To conjugate い-adjectives, remove the final い and add the appropriate ending.

Conjugation Examples

この映画は面白くないです。 Kono eiga wa omoshirokunai desu. This movie is not interesting.

昨日は寒かったです。 Kinou wa samukatta desu. Yesterday was cold.

な-adjectives need な when modifying nouns directly.

Before Nouns (with な)

静かな部屋 shizuka na heya a quiet room

元気な子供 genki na kodomo an energetic child

At Sentence End (no な)

この町は静かです。 Kono machi wa shizuka desu. This town is quiet.

彼女は親切です。 Kanojo wa shinsetsu desu. She is kind.

な-adjectives conjugate using じゃ (like nouns with です).

Conjugation Examples

あの店は有名じゃないです。 Ano mise wa yuumei ja nai desu. That store is not famous.

パーティーは楽しかったです。 Paatii wa tanoshikatta desu. The party was fun.