HOW TO USE JAPANESE ADJECTIVES

In Japanese there are two types of Japanese:

い形容詞 (ii-keiyoushi) and な形容詞 (na-keiyoushi)

These are the adjectives that either end with ii or na.

HOW TO USE い形容詞 – ii adjectives

ii adjectives – Structure #1

It’s very easy to learn to use ii adjectives as it is very similar to the English way. You just have to attach the adjective before a noun.

For example:

Here, the adjective describes the noun perfectly and emphasises the feature of the book i.e., the book being old.

ii adjectives – Structure #2

Another sentence structure is to attach the adjective at the end of the sentence, before desu. You will understand the difference by looking at the example.

For example:

Here, the topic marker particle は is used to stress the word ‘book’ giving more emphasis on book rather than it being old.

HOW TO USE な形容詞 – na adjectives

na adjectives – Structure #1

When you are attaching the word before a noun, you retain na at the end of then na adjective. Just like ii adjectives.

For example:

na adjectives – Structure #2

When you want to use the na adjective at the end of a sentence, you will have to keep in mind that you need to lose the na ending of the na adjective.

For example: 

EXCEPTIONS TO JAPANESE ADJCTIVES

There are a few adjectives that you need to be cautious about.

These adjectives end with ii BUT they are na adjectives.

A bit confusing, right?

To remember these exceptions, you have to memorise them or practice sentences using these adjectives.

As they are na adjectives, the formation of sentences using these particles is similar to na adjectives.

Here’s some of these adjectives to be aware of:

FOREIGN ADJECTIVES IN JAPANESE

The Japanese language has included some foreign words into its vocabulary as adjectives. These foreign words, as we learned while learning the alphabets, are written in Katakana.

These foreign adjectives are considered na adjectives.

Few examples are:

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SIMILAR RESOURCES

Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:

• How to say Beautiful in Japanese
• How to use adjectives in Chinese
• How to use adjectives in Korean
• How to use adjectives in Vietnamese

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MORE FREE LESSONS

• Hiragana

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• Katakana

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• Basic sentence structures

  Subject + は + Object + です

• Present tense in Japanese

  食べる → 食べます

• Past tense in Japanese

  Verb + た

• Continuous tense (て形 te form)

  Verb + て te

• Negative sentences in Japanese

  Subject + Object + ではありません

• Japanese honorifics

  お / ご + します

• Dates in Japanese

  Year + 年 + Month + 月 + Day + 日

• Telling time in Japanese

  Number + 時

• How to count in Japanese

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• Introduction to 12 Japanese counters

  Number + Counter

• Using ii-adjectives and na-adjectives

  Adjective + Noun + です

• How to use adverbs in Japanese

  Remove い + Add く

• Plain forms verbs

  Phrase + です / だ

• Making basic comparisons in Japanese

  A (noun) + のほうが + B

• Asking questions in Japanese

  いつ, 何時, なん, いくら, どう, どなた

• Introduction to Japanese particles

  Topic + は

• Object particle を

  Object + を

• Subject particle が

  Subject + が

• Possessive particle の

  Noun 1 + の + Noun 2

• Adjective particle が

  Subject + が + adjective

• Topic particle は

  Topic + は

• Location particles に and で

  Location + に

• Direction particles に and へ

  Noun + に

• Japanese prepositions: in, at, on

  [Object or Person] + うしろに + [Reference Point]

• How to make the Japanese Te form (て)

  ある → あって

• Connecting sentences with て form

  V te-form 1, V te-form 2, ~

• How to say "with" with と, 一緒に & と共に

  Noun + と

• How to say "and" with と & し

  Noun 1 + と + Noun 2

• How to say "because" with から, ので & more

  なぜなら + Phrase + から / ので

• This & that with これ, それ and more

  これ / それ / あれ + は何ですか?

• Expressing emphasis in Japanese

  とても + Adjective / Verb

• Expressing together in Japanese

  Subject + (と)一緒に + Verb

• Give & ask for directions in Japanese

  これ + Noun

• Relative quantities in Japanese

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• Expressing frequency in Japanese

  いつも + verb phrase