Lesson 7: Adjectives — Describing Your World
Master Japanese adjectives to describe food, places, and people. Learn い-adjectives and な-adjectives with conjugation patterns.
Lesson 7: Adjectives — Describing Your World 🎨
Introduction
Welcome to the colorful world of Japanese adjectives! 🌈 Up until now, you've learned to introduce yourself, count, tell time, and use basic verbs. But how do you say that sushi was delicious, that mountain is big, or that your friend is kind? That's where adjectives come in!
Japanese has two main types of adjectives: い-adjectives (i-adjectives) and な-adjectives (na-adjectives). Each type follows different rules for conjugation and usage. Don't worry—once you understand the pattern, you'll be describing everything around you in Japanese! 🗣️
💡 Why This Matters: Adjectives transform your Japanese from basic statements into vivid descriptions. Instead of just saying "This is a restaurant" (これはレストランです), you can say "This is a famous restaurant" (これは有名なレストランです)!
Core Concepts: The Two Types of Japanese Adjectives 📚
い-Adjectives (i-adjectives) 🔵
い-adjectives always end in the hiragana character い (i). This い is part of the adjective itself and changes when you conjugate.
Common い-adjectives you need to know:
- 大きい (おおきい, ookii) = big, large
- 小さい (ちいさい, chiisai) = small
- おいしい (oishii) = delicious, tasty
- 高い (たかい, takai) = expensive, tall, high
- 安い (やすい, yasui) = cheap, inexpensive
- 新しい (あたらしい, atarashii) = new
- 古い (ふるい, furui) = old (for things, not people)
- いい / 良い (ii / yoi) = good
- 悪い (わるい, warui) = bad
- 楽しい (たのしい, tanoshii) = fun, enjoyable
- 忙しい (いそがしい, isogashii) = busy
- 暑い (あつい, atsui) = hot (weather)
- 寒い (さむい, samui) = cold (weather)
- 難しい (むずかしい, muzukashii) = difficult
- 易しい (やさしい, yasashii) = easy, simple
🗣️ Pronunciation Tip: When you see double vowels like おお in 大きい, hold the sound longer: "ooo-kii" not "o-kii".
い-Adjective Conjugation Pattern
┌─────────────────┬──────────────────────┬─────────────────┐
│ Form │ Conjugation │ Example │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Present │ [adjective] │ 大きい │
│ (is big) │ │ (is big) │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Past │ い → かった │ 大きかった │
│ (was big) │ │ (was big) │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Negative │ い → くない │ 大きくない │
│ (isn't big) │ │ (isn't big) │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Past Negative │ い → くなかった │ 大きくなかった │
│ (wasn't big) │ │ (wasn't big) │
└─────────────────┴──────────────────────┴─────────────────┘
The Magic Formula: Remove the final い and add:
- かった for past
- くない for negative
- くなかった for past negative
⚠️ EXCEPTION: The adjective いい (good) has irregular conjugation:
- Present: いい (ii)
- Past: よかった (yokatta) ← NOT いかった!
- Negative: よくない (yokunai)
- Past Negative: よくなかった (yokunakatta)
な-Adjectives (na-adjectives) 🔴
な-adjectives are called "na-adjectives" because they need な when directly modifying a noun. They act more like nouns in their conjugation.
Common な-adjectives you need to know:
- きれい (kirei) = beautiful, clean, pretty
- 有名 (ゆうめい, yuumei) = famous
- 静か (しずか, shizuka) = quiet, peaceful
- にぎやか (nigiyaka) = lively, bustling
- 便利 (べんり, benri) = convenient
- 不便 (ふべん, fuben) = inconvenient
- 好き (すき, suki) = liked, favorite
- 嫌い (きらい, kirai) = disliked, hated
- 簡単 (かんたん, kantan) = simple, easy
- 大変 (たいへん, taihen) = difficult, tough, terrible
- 元気 (げんき, genki) = healthy, energetic
- 親切 (しんせつ, shinsetsu) = kind, helpful
- 失礼 (しつれい, shitsurei) = rude, impolite
な-Adjective Conjugation Pattern
┌─────────────────┬──────────────────────┬─────────────────┐
│ Form │ Conjugation │ Example │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Present │ [adj] + です │ きれいです │
│ (is pretty) │ │ (is pretty) │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Past │ [adj] + でした │ きれいでした │
│ (was pretty) │ │ (was pretty) │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Negative │ [adj] + じゃない │ きれいじゃない │
│ (isn't pretty) │ or ではない │ │
├─────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│ Past Negative │ [adj] + じゃなかった │ きれいじゃなかった│
│ (wasn't pretty) │ or ではなかった │ │
└─────────────────┴──────────────────────┴─────────────────┘
💡 Key Difference: な-adjectives conjugate like nouns with です. The adjective word itself doesn't change—only the copula (です) changes!
🧠 Mnemonic: Think of な-adjectives as "noun-like adjectives"—they behave like nouns and use です conjugations.
How to Use Adjectives in Sentences 📝
Pattern 1: Adjective as Predicate ("A is B")
い-adjectives: Place directly before です (です is optional in casual speech)
- この寿司はおいしいです。(Kono sushi wa oishii desu.) = This sushi is delicious.
- あの山は高いです。(Ano yama wa takai desu.) = That mountain is tall.
な-adjectives: Must use です
- 京都は有名です。(Kyouto wa yuumei desu.) = Kyoto is famous.
- この公園は静かです。(Kono kouen wa shizuka desu.) = This park is quiet.
Pattern 2: Adjective Modifying a Noun ("big dog")
い-adjectives: Place directly before the noun
- 大きい犬 (ookii inu) = big dog
- 新しい車 (atarashii kuruma) = new car
- おいしい食べ物 (oishii tabemono) = delicious food
な-adjectives: Add な between the adjective and noun
- 有名な人 (yuumei na hito) = famous person
- きれいな花 (kirei na hana) = beautiful flower
- 静かなレストラン (shizuka na resutoran) = quiet restaurant
い-ADJECTIVE な-ADJECTIVE
↓ ↓
[大きい] + [犬] [有名] + [な] + [人]
↓ ↓
big dog famous person
(no な needed!) (な is REQUIRED!)
⚠️ Common Mistake: Forgetting the な with な-adjectives!
- ❌ きれい人 (WRONG!)
- ✅ きれいな人 (CORRECT!)
🤔 Did You Know? The word きれい originally meant "clean" but expanded to mean "beautiful" and "pretty" as well. Context tells you which meaning!
Detailed Examples with Explanations 💬
Example 1: Describing Food at a Restaurant 🍽️
Scenario: You're at a Japanese restaurant with a friend. You want to describe the food.
Dialogue:
A: このラーメンはどうですか。(Kono raamen wa dou desu ka.) = How is this ramen?
B: とてもおいしいです！(Totemo oishii desu!) = It's very delicious!
A: そのカレーは辛いですか。(Sono karee wa karai desu ka.) = Is that curry spicy?
B: いいえ、辛くないです。(Iie, karakunai desu.) = No, it's not spicy.
A: 昨日のピザはどうでしたか。(Kinou no piza wa dou deshita ka.) = How was yesterday's pizza?
B: おいしかったです！でも高かったです。(Oishikatta desu! Demo takakatta desu.) = It was delicious! But it was expensive.
Breakdown:
- おいしい (delicious) = い-adjective, stays as is in present tense
- おいしかった (was delicious) = past tense, い → かった
- 辛くない (not spicy) = negative, い → くない
- 高かった (was expensive) = past tense of 高い
🔧 Try This: Think of your favorite food. Say "[Food] is delicious" in Japanese! Example: ピザはおいしいです。(Pizza wa oishii desu.)
Example 2: Describing Places in Your Town 🏙️
Scenario: Your Japanese friend is visiting. You're describing different places.
Dialogue:
A: この図書館は静かですか。(Kono toshokan wa shizuka desu ka.) = Is this library quiet?
B: はい、とても静かです。便利です。(Hai, totemo shizuka desu. Benri desu.) = Yes, it's very quiet. It's convenient.
A: あのレストランは有名ですか。(Ano resutoran wa yuumei desu ka.) = Is that restaurant famous?
B: はい、有名なレストランです。(Hai, yuumei na resutoran desu.) = Yes, it's a famous restaurant.
A: この公園はきれいですね。(Kono kouen wa kirei desu ne.) = This park is pretty, isn't it?
B: そうですね。でも昔はきれいじゃなかったです。(Sou desu ne. Demo mukashi wa kirei ja nakatta desu.) = That's right. But in the past it wasn't pretty.
Breakdown:
- 静か = な-adjective, needs です when used as predicate
- 便利 = な-adjective (convenient)
- 有名なレストラン = な-adjective + な + noun
- きれいじゃなかった = past negative of な-adjective
💡 Cultural Note: Japanese people often use ね (ne) at the end of sentences to seek agreement or confirmation, like "isn't it?" or "right?" in English.
Example 3: Describing People 👥
Scenario: You're talking about your friends and family.
Dialogue:
A: お姉さんはどんな人ですか。(Oneesan wa donna hito desu ka.) = What kind of person is your older sister?
B: 優しい人です。そして親切です。(Yasashii hito desu. Soshite shinsetsu desu.) = She's a kind person. And she's helpful.
A: 田中さんは元気ですか。(Tanaka-san wa genki desu ka.) = Is Tanaka-san healthy/energetic?
B: 最近忙しいです。でも元気です。(Saikin isogashii desu. Demo genki desu.) = Recently she's busy. But she's energetic.
A: 先生は厳しいですか。(Sensei wa kibishii desu ka.) = Is the teacher strict?
B: いいえ、厳しくないです。優しいです。(Iie, kibishikunai desu. Yasashii desu.) = No, she's not strict. She's kind.
Breakdown:
- 優しい (やさしい, yasashii) = い-adjective meaning "kind, gentle" (different from 易しい which means "easy"!)
- 親切 = な-adjective meaning "kind, helpful"
- 元気 = な-adjective meaning "healthy, energetic"
- 忙しい = い-adjective meaning "busy"
- 厳しい (きびしい, kibishii) = い-adjective meaning "strict"
🆚 Confused Pair Alert:
- 優しい (やさしい, yasashii) = kind, gentle (about personality)
- 易しい (やさしい, yasashii) = easy, simple (about difficulty)
Same pronunciation, different kanji, different meanings! Context is key.
Example 4: Talking About Experiences 🎭
Scenario: Discussing your weekend activities.
Dialogue:
A: 週末はどうでしたか。(Shuumatsu wa dou deshita ka.) = How was your weekend?
B: とても楽しかったです！新しい映画を見ました。(Totemo tanoshikatta desu! Atarashii eiga wo mimashita.) = It was very fun! I watched a new movie.
A: 映画はどうでしたか。(Eiga wa dou deshita ka.) = How was the movie?
B: 面白かったです。でも少し長かったです。(Omoshirokatta desu. Demo sukoshi nagakatta desu.) = It was interesting. But it was a little long.
A: 新しいカフェはどうでしたか。(Atarashii kafe wa dou deshita ka.) = How was the new café?
B: すごくおしゃれでした！コーヒーもおいしかったです。(Sugoku oshare deshita! Koohii mo oishikatta desu.) = It was really stylish! The coffee was also delicious.
Breakdown:
- 楽しかった = past tense of 楽しい (fun)
- 新しい = い-adjective modifying 映画 (movie)
- 面白い (おもしろい, omoshiroi) = い-adjective meaning "interesting, funny"
- 長い (ながい, nagai) = い-adjective meaning "long"
- おしゃれ = な-adjective meaning "stylish, fashionable"
- おしゃれでした = past tense of な-adjective
Common Mistakes to Avoid ⚠️
Mistake 1: Using な with い-adjectives
❌ WRONG: 大きいな犬 (ookii na inu) ✅ CORRECT: 大きい犬 (ookii inu) = big dog
Why: い-adjectives don't need な—they modify nouns directly!
Mistake 2: Forgetting な with な-adjectives
❌ WRONG: 有名人 (yuumei hito) = This could mean "celebrity" but not "famous person" in the way you want! ✅ CORRECT: 有名な人 (yuumei na hito) = famous person
Why: な-adjectives MUST use な when modifying nouns.
Mistake 3: Incorrect い-adjective conjugation
❌ WRONG: おいしいでした (oishii deshita) ✅ CORRECT: おいしかったです (oishikatta desu) = was delicious
Why: The い itself changes to かった for past tense. Don't just add でした!
Mistake 4: Treating いい like other い-adjectives
❌ WRONG: いかった (ikatta) ✅ CORRECT: よかった (yokatta) = was good
Why: いい is irregular! It uses よ- stem for conjugations.
Mistake 5: Confusing similar-sounding adjectives
❌ WRONG: この問題は優しいです。(Kono mondai wa yasashii desu.) = "This problem is kind" (?) ✅ CORRECT: この問題は易しいです。(Kono mondai wa yasashii desu.) = This problem is easy.
Why: Same sound, different kanji, different meanings!
優しい (yasashii) = kind, gentle
≠
易しい (yasashii) = easy, simple
Mistake 6: Using です with negative い-adjectives incorrectly
❌ ACCEPTABLE BUT LESS POLITE: 大きいじゃないです ✅ BETTER: 大きくないです (ookikunai desu) = isn't big ✅ MOST POLITE: 大きくありません (ookiku arimasen) = isn't big
Why: い-adjectives have their own negative form (くない). Don't treat them like な-adjectives!
📖 Mini-Story: A Day in Tokyo 🗼
Let's see all these adjectives in action! Read this story about Yuki's day in Tokyo:
今日はいい天気です。空は青くて、きれいです。私は新しい友達のエミリーと東京に行きます。
朝、有名なカフェで朝ご飯を食べました。コーヒーはおいしかったです！でも少し高かったです。
次に、大きいデパートに行きました。デパートはとてもにぎやかでした。エミリーは小さいかばんを買いました。安かったです！
昼ご飯は静かなレストランで食べました。私は新しいラーメンを食べました。とてもおいしかったです。エミリーは「このラーメンは難しいです」と言いました。箸が難しかったです！
午後、古いお寺に行きました。お寺はとてもきれいでした。そして静かでした。
夜、東京タワーに行きました。東京タワーは高いです！夜景はすごくきれいでした。
今日はとても楽しかったです。エミリーも「楽しかった！」と言いました。いい一日でした。
Translation:
Today the weather is good. The sky is blue and beautiful. I'm going to Tokyo with my new friend Emily.
In the morning, we ate breakfast at a famous café. The coffee was delicious! But it was a little expensive.
Next, we went to a big department store. The department store was very lively. Emily bought a small bag. It was cheap!
We ate lunch at a quiet restaurant. I ate new ramen. It was very delicious. Emily said, "This ramen is difficult." The chopsticks were difficult!
In the afternoon, we went to an old temple. The temple was very beautiful. And it was quiet.
In the evening, we went to Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower is tall! The night view was incredibly beautiful.
Today was very fun. Emily also said, "It was fun!" It was a good day.
Adjectives Used:
- いい (good) - irregular い-adjective
- 青い (blue) - い-adjective
- きれい (beautiful) - な-adjective
- 新しい (new) - い-adjective
- 有名な (famous) - な-adjective
- おいしい (delicious) - い-adjective
- 高い (expensive) - い-adjective
- 大きい (big) - い-adjective
- にぎやか (lively) - な-adjective
- 小さい (small) - い-adjective
- 安い (cheap) - い-adjective
- 静か (quiet) - な-adjective
- 難しい (difficult) - い-adjective
- 古い (old) - い-adjective
- 楽しい (fun) - い-adjective
🔧 Try This: Rewrite one sentence from the story using negative or past negative forms! Example: デパートはにぎやかでした → デパートはにぎやかじゃなかったです (The department store wasn't lively)
Key Takeaways 🎯
Two types of adjectives: い-adjectives (end in い) and な-adjectives (need な before nouns)
い-adjective conjugation: Change the final い
- Present: 大きい (is big)
- Past: 大きかった (was big)
- Negative: 大きくない (isn't big)
- Past Negative: 大きくなかった (wasn't big)
な-adjective conjugation: Adjective doesn't change; use です conjugations
- Present: きれいです (is pretty)
- Past: きれいでした (was pretty)
- Negative: きれいじゃない (isn't pretty)
- Past Negative: きれいじゃなかった (wasn't pretty)
Modifying nouns:
- い-adjectives: 大きい犬 (big dog) - no な needed
- な-adjectives: 有名な人 (famous person) - な required
Exception: いい (good) is irregular → よかった (was good), よくない (not good)
Common adjectives to memorize: 大きい, 小さい, おいしい, 高い, 安い, きれい, 有名, 静か
Describing experiences: Use past tense → 楽しかったです (It was fun!)
📋 Quick Reference Card
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ JAPANESE ADJECTIVES CHEAT SHEET ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ い-ADJECTIVES (end in い) ║
║ ──────────────────────────────── ║
║ Present: 大きい (is big) ║
║ Past: 大きかった (was big) ║
║ Negative: 大きくない (isn't big) ║
║ Past Negative: 大きくなかった (wasn't big) ║
║ ║
║ Before noun: 大きい犬 (big dog) ← no な! ║
║ ║
║ ⚠️ EXCEPTION: いい → よかった / よくない ║
║ ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ な-ADJECTIVES (need な before nouns) ║
║ ──────────────────────────────────── ║
║ Present: きれいです (is pretty) ║
║ Past: きれいでした (was pretty) ║
║ Negative: きれいじゃない (isn't pretty) ║
║ Past Negative: きれいじゃなかった (wasn't pretty) ║
║ ║
║ Before noun: きれいな花 (pretty flower) ← な! ║
║ ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ ESSENTIAL ADJECTIVES ║
║ ─────────────────────── ║
║ 大きい (ookii) = big [い-adj] ║
║ 小さい (chiisai) = small [い-adj] ║
║ おいしい (oishii) = delicious [い-adj] ║
║ 高い (takai) = expensive/tall [い-adj] ║
║ 安い (yasui) = cheap [い-adj] ║
║ 新しい (atarashii) = new [い-adj] ║
║ 古い (furui) = old [い-adj] ║
║ いい (ii) = good [い-adj] ⚠️ irregular ║
║ 楽しい (tanoshii) = fun [い-adj] ║
║ ║
║ きれい (kirei) = pretty [な-adj] ║
║ 有名 (yuumei) = famous [な-adj] ║
║ 静か (shizuka) = quiet [な-adj] ║
║ 便利 (benri) = convenient [な-adj] ║
║ 好き (suki) = liked [な-adj] ║
║ 簡単 (kantan) = easy [な-adj] ║
║ ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
📚 Further Study
Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese - Adjectives: https://guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/adjectives (Excellent breakdown of adjective types with clear examples)
JapanesePod101 - Japanese Adjectives: https://www.japanesepod101.com/lesson-library/ (Audio lessons with native pronunciation and conversation practice)
Imabi - Japanese Adjectives: https://www.imabi.net/adjectives.htm (Detailed linguistic explanation with advanced usage patterns)
Congratulations! 🎉 You can now describe your world in Japanese! Practice using these adjectives to describe everything you see today—your food, your room, the weather, your friends. The more you use them, the more natural they'll become. In the next lesson, we'll learn about particles and how to build more complex sentences. がんばって！(Ganbatte! = Do your best!) 💪