Explanation of Adjectival Verbs
Adjectival verbs, in Japanese, are words that describe the nature or state of things.
For example, in phrases like "The flower is beautiful" and "It's very quiet," the conclusive form ends with "だ" (da).
A characteristic of adjectival verbs is that they are independent words (words that can convey meaning on their own) and have conjugations (changes in the form of the word ending).
For example, in sentences like "There used to be a magnificent house here" and "Mobile phones are very convenient," the adjectival verbs describe the state of the house and mobile phone.
Additionally, when placed before a noun, adjectival verbs take the form of "〜な" (na).
Examples of Adjectival Verbs
Here are some examples of adjectival verbs: きれいだ (beautiful), 上品だ (elegant), しあわせだ (happy), しずかだ (quiet), なめらかだ (smooth), のどかだ (peaceful), 便利だ (convenient), 満足だ (satisfied), にぎやかだ (lively), 積極的だ (proactive), 専門的だ (specialized).
Example Sentences with Adjectival Verbs Let's extract the adjectival verbs from the following sentence:
「娘は小学校1年生になったばかりだ。通学路はいくつかあるが、急に車が飛び出してくることもあるのでガードレールがある大通りが一番安全だ。小学校に通い初めてから一段と成長した娘。素直な心で安全にすくすく育ってほしいものだ。」
The adjectival verbs in this sentence are "急に" (suddenly), "安全だ" (safe), "素直だ" (obedient), and "安全に" (safely).
How to Identify Adjectival Verbs
A simple way to identify adjectival verbs is to find words that seem to describe the state of things and have conjugations, and then change them to their conclusive form.
If the conclusive form is "〜だ" (da), it is immediately clear that it is an adjectival verb.
Note for Japanese Language Learners When learning Japanese, adjectival verbs are an important point to remember. They are used frequently in daily conversations and writings as they describe the nature or state of things. Also, it is essential to memorize the conjugation patterns of adjectival verbs.
For example, "きれいだ" (beautiful) can change to "きれいな" (beautiful) and "きれいに" (beautifully).
Adjectives and Adjective Verbs
Are there no such things as adjective verbs? Actually, in Japanese grammar for foreigners, separate from school education, there are no adjective verbs.
They are taught as a type of adjective.
Hence, adjectives and adjective verbs have similar characteristics.
- (Adjective) 厳しいトレーニング
- (Adjective verb) ハードなトレーニング
The origin of the term adjective verb comes from the conjugation 'nari' and 'tari,' which resemble the 'ra' conjugation of verbs.
Because the conjugation resembles that of verbs, it is named adjective verb.
There is no need to completely separate adjectives and adjective verbs.
Conjugation and Conjugation Forms of Adjective Verbs
If you need to understand adjective verbs for school exams, you should understand their conjugation forms.
Adjective verbs are words with conjugation. Conjugation (katsuyou) means the change in the form of the word ending.
For example, 'hon (noun)' and 'sukkari (adverb)' do not change their endings, but adjective verbs do change their endings in various ways.
For the 'kirei da' adjective verb, the ending changes depending on the word following it.
- Mizenkei (incomplete form): きれいだろう
- Renyoukei (continuative form): きれいだった、きれいでない、きれいになる
- Shuushikei (conclusive form): きれいだ
- Rentaikei (attributive form): きれいなとき
- Kateikei (hypothetical form): きれいならば
- Meireikei (imperative form): -none-
There are 5 types of conjugation forms for adjective verbs: mizenkei, renyoukei, shuushikei, rentaikei, and kateikei. The forms vary depending on the following word.
- Mizenkei: form connecting to '〜u'
- Renyoukei: form connecting to '〜ta,' '〜nai,' '〜naru'
- Shuushikei: declarative form
- Rentaikei: form connecting to nouns such as '〜toki'
- Kateikei: form connecting to '〜ba'
This is the 'conjugation' of adjective verbs.
For those who need to memorize conjugation forms for exams, some may remember 'darou, datta, de, ni, da, na, naraba.'
Remember that the word endings of adjective verbs in sentences may change.
Adjective Verb Conjugation Table
- Conjugation Type Conjugation
- Mizenkei だろ
- Renyoukei だっ、で、に
- Shuushikei だ
- Rentaikei な
- Kateikei なら
- Meireikei - none -
There is no imperative form in adjective verb conjugation.
There is only one type of conjugation for adjective verbs. It is not like verb conjugation (godan, jouyodan, etc.) with multiple forms.
Word Stem and Conjugation Ending of Adjective Verbs The conjugation ending refers to the part that changes when conjugating a word. In the case of 'kirei da,' the 'kirei' part does not change during conjugation, but the other part does.
The unchanging part (kirei) is the word stem, and the changing part (darou, datta, de) is the conjugation ending.
Special Conjugation Adjective Verbs
There are several exceptions in adjective verb conjugation.
'Konna da,' 'sonna da,' 'anna da,' 'donna da,' 'onaji da' are adjective verbs that do not have an attributive form. When connecting to nouns, use the word stem.
- どんな服を買ったんですか? ('donna da' → 'donna')
- I did not think he was that kind of person. ('anna da' → 'anna')
- I want to go to the same place. ('onaji da' → 'onaji')
Differences Between Adjective Verbs and Adjectives
It may be difficult for some to understand the differences between adjective verbs and adjectives as they are similar.
Here, we will explain the differences, how to distinguish them, and a simple way to remember.
Examples of Adjective Verbs and Adjectives
First, let us introduce example sentences of adjective verbs and adjectives.
暖かな日。 【形容動詞 Adjective Verb】 暖かい日。 【形容詞 Adjective】
Both seem to be modifying and explaining 'day' in detail. How can we distinguish between adjective verbs and adjectives?
Simple Way to Distinguish Adjective Verbs and Adjectives
A simple way to distinguish adjective verbs and adjectives is that the declarative form of adjective verbs ends with '〜da,' while adjectives end with '〜i.'
In the example above, '暖かな日' is an adjective verb because the declarative form is 'atatakada,' ending with 'da.' 'Warm day' is an adjective because the declarative form is 'atatakai,' ending with 'i.'
Differences Between Adjective Verbs and Adjectives
Adjective verbs end with 'da' in their declarative form. Adjectives end with 'i' in their declarative form. Also, both adjective verbs and adjectives have conjugation, which is a common feature.
If you pay attention to the conjugation forms, adjective verbs conjugate as 'darou, datta, de, ni, da, na, naraba,' while adjectives conjugate as 'karou, katta, ku, i, i, kereba,' which are different forms.
Adjective Adjective Verb Conjugation Table Conjugation Type Adjective Adjective Verb
- Mizenkei 美しかろう 綺麗だろう
- Renyoukei 美しかった 綺麗だった
- Shuushikei 美しい 綺麗だ
- Rentaikei 美しいとき 綺麗なとき
- Kateikei 美しければ 綺麗ならば
- Meireikei - none - - none -
When adjective verbs and adjectives are used in sentences, their forms may change, making it difficult to determine their part of speech.
In such cases, converting to the declarative form makes it easier to understand.
For example, 'samosou na gakkou' can be converted to 'samosou da,' which helps determine the part of speech.
Differences Between Adjective Verbs and Adnominals (Common Mistakes with Adjective Verbs) What are the differences between 'kireina' and 'ookina' in the following sentences?
きれいな箱がある。 彼は私に大きな影響を与えた。
'Kireina' is the attributive form of the adjective verb 'kirei,' and 'ookina' is the attributive form of the adnominal 'ookii.'
'Kireina' is an adjective verb, and 'ookina' is an adnominal, but how can we tell the difference? Also, what is an adnominal?
An adnominal is a word that modifies a noun as an adjective does. However, adnominals have different forms from adjectives and adjective verbs, so they are categorized separately.
Adnominals have the same forms for all five conjugation types, unlike adjectives and adjective verbs, which change forms.
Adnominals (keiyoudoushi) do not change their ending.
There are only a few adnominals, such as 'ookii,' 'chiisai,' and 'ii.'
Adnominal Adjective Verb Conjugation Table Conjugation Type Adnominal Adjective Verb
- Mizenkei 大きいでしょう 綺麗だろう
- Renyoukei 大きいんです 綺麗だった
- Shuushikei 大きい 綺麗だ
- Rentaikei 大きいとき 綺麗なとき
- Kateikei 大きければ 綺麗ならば
- Meireikei - none - - none -
Adjective Verbs and Adjectives in Exams
Japanese language exams may have questions that require distinguishing between adjective verbs and adjectives, so it is important to understand the differences.
For example, in the sentence 'The cherry blossoms are beautiful,' 'beautiful' is an adjective verb, so the correct answer is 'Sakura wa kirei da.'
If the sentence is 'The cherry blossoms are pretty,' 'pretty' is an adjective, so the correct answer is 'Sakura wa kawaii.'
In this article, we introduced and explained Japanese grammar, such as adjectives and adjective verbs, their conjugation forms, the differences between adjective verbs and adjectives, and the differences between adjective verbs and adnominals.
We hope this explanation helps you understand the differences and use them correctly in your daily life and exams.
Moreover, knowing the differences between adjective verbs and adjectives is also useful for those who want to speak more natural Japanese.
If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to ask. We are here to help.