Overview of Adjectives
Adjectives are words used to describe the characteristics or states of things in detail. For example, in "おもしろい本 (interesting book)" and "白い紙 (white paper)", the adjectives modify the nouns to express their characteristics. A distinctive feature of Japanese adjectives is that they are inflecting independent words, and their terminal form ends with "い (i)".
Example: "おもしろい本だったよ (It was an interesting book)", "難しい本だったよ (It was a difficult book)" In these examples, the adjectives "おもしろい (interesting)" and "難しい (difficult)" provide detailed descriptions of the characteristic of the noun "本 (book)".
Examples of Adjectives
Here are some common examples of adjectives in Japanese: 美しい (beautiful), 優しい (kind), 賢い (wise), 虚しい (vain), 怖い (scary), 痛い (painful), 悲しい (sad), 美味しい (delicious), 醜い (ugly), 悔しい (regrettable), 可愛い (cute), 大きい (big), 長い (long), 若い (young), 赤い (red), 深い (deep), 遠い (far), 暗い (dark), 薄い (thin), 古い (old), 太い (thick), 新しい (new), 明るい (bright)
Example Sentence with Adjectives
Let's understand the usage of adjectives with an example sentence.
Example: "長野のりんごは甘い。毎年実家の母から送られてくるりんごを食べると、子供の頃の思い出がよみがえる。美味しいりんごは我が家で大人気だ。7歳になる娘も長野のりんごの大ファンである。" In this example sentence, the adjectives are "甘い (sweet)" and "美味しい (delicious)".
Usage of Adjectives
There are three main uses of adjectives in Japanese:
- Modifying a noun
- Stating the characteristics of the subject
- Modifying a verb
Examples:
- Modifying a noun: "赤い靴 (red shoes)"
- Stating the characteristics of the subject: "私の顔が赤かった (My face was red)"
- Modifying a verb: "速く走る (run fast)"
Note: Difference between English and Japanese Adjectives English adjectives only modify nouns, but Japanese adjectives can modify both nouns and verbs. Also, Japanese adverbs can modify verbs, so in Japanese, both adjectives and adverbs can modify verbs.
Examples:
Modifying a verb with an adjective: "速く走る (run fast)" Modifying a verb with an adverb: "ゆっくり走る (run slowly)"
Conjugation of Adjectives
It is important to understand the conjugation forms of adjectives.
Adjectives in Japanese are inflected words, meaning that their endings change based on their grammatical function in a sentence.
For example, while the endings of nouns like "本 (book)" or adverbs like "すっかり (completely)" do not change, the endings of adjectives can change in various ways.
For instance, the conjugation forms of "美しい (beautiful)" are as follows:
Conjugation Example of "美しい" (beautiful)
Non-past form: 美しかろう Continuative form: 美しかった、美しくない Terminal form: 美しい Attributive form: 美しいとき Hypothetical form: 美しければ
There are five main conjugation forms for adjectives: non-past, continuative, terminal, attributive, and hypothetical forms. Each form is used before different types of words, as illustrated below:
Conjugation Forms
Non-past form: Used before 〜う (美しかろう) Continuative form: Used before 〜た, 〜ない, 〜なる (美しかった) Terminal form: Used at the end of a sentence (美しい) Attributive form: Used before nominal expressions like 〜とき (美しいとき) Hypothetical form: Used before 〜ば (美しければ) Imperative form: - Not applicable -
Stem and Inflectional Ending in Adjective Conjugation In adjective conjugation, there are two important terms: "stem" and "inflectional ending." The stem is the part of the adjective that does not change during conjugation, while the inflectional ending is the part that changes in form.
For example, in "美しい": Stem (unchanged part): "美し (beautiful)" Inflectional ending (changing part): かろ, かっ, く, etc.
Memorizing Adjective Conjugation
For those who need to memorize the adjective conjugation forms, such as for exams, one helpful mnemonic is "かろかっくいいけれ."
For those who do not need to memorize the forms, it is helpful to remember that adjectives are words whose endings can change within a sentence.
Adjective Conjugation Table
The conjugation forms of adjectives can be summarized in the following table:
Type of Conjugation Inflectional Ending Non-past form かろ Continuative form かっ、く Terminal form い Attributive form い Hypothetical form けれ Imperative form - Not applicable - Adjective conjugation includes only these five forms; there is no imperative form.
Adjective conjugation in Japanese has only one pattern, unlike verb conjugation which has multiple patterns (e.g., godan conjugation, ichidan conjugation, etc.).
Usage and Conjugation of Japanese Adjectives
Adjectives play a crucial role in Japanese grammar. For Japanese language learners, it is essential to understand the conjugation and usage of adjectives.
Conjugation of Adjectives
Adjectives are inflectional words in Japanese, which means their endings change.
For example, the conjugation of "美しい (beautiful)" is as follows:
- Negative form: 美しかろう
- Past form: 美しかった、美しくない
- Present form: 美しい
- Attributive form: 美しいとき
- Hypothetical form: 美しければ
The conjugation form changes based on the words following the adjective in the sentence.
Stem and Inflectional Ending of Adjectives
Stem: The part of the adjective that does not change during conjugation. Example: "美し (beautiful)" Inflectional Ending: The part of the adjective that changes during conjugation. Example: かろ、かっ、くない, etc. Conjugation Table of Adjectives
- Negative form: かろ
- Past form: かっ、く
- Present form: い
- Attributive form: い
- Hypothetical form: けれ
- Imperative form: None
This is the only conjugation form for adjectives, unlike verbs which have multiple forms.
Usage of Adjectives
Adjectives in Japanese can serve various functions in a sentence:
- Predicate: このマンションは駅から遠い。
- Subject: 美しさは罪だ。
- Modifier: 常に美しい文字を意識する。
- Conjunction: もし暗いなら、電気をつけようか。
Difference Between Adjectives and Adjectival Verbs
- Adjectives: End with "い" in the conclusive form. Example: 美しい
- Adjectival Verbs: End with "だ" in the conclusive form. Example: 綺麗だ
The conjugation of adjectives and adjectival verbs differs.
- Adjectives conjugation: かろ・かっ・く・い・い・けれ
- Adjectival verbs conjugation: だろ・だっ・で・に・だ・な・なら
This is a basic overview of the conjugation and usage of Japanese adjectives.
Understanding these rules and practicing them in real-life situations is crucial for becoming proficient in Japanese grammar.
Special Usage of Adjectives (Auxiliary Adjectives)
Among Japanese adjectives, there are special and hard-to-distinguish ones called auxiliary adjectives (formal adjectives).
The main types of auxiliary adjectives are "ない (not)," "よい (good)/いい," and "ほしい (want)."
Auxiliary adjectives are used in a supportive role, and their original meaning becomes diluted, making it hard to distinguish them.
So, it's important to remember these three.
Example of auxiliary adjective "ない": 悪く (は) ない (not bad), 面白く (も) ない (not interesting) Example of auxiliary adjective "よい (いい)": 帰って (も) よい (can return), つまらなくて (も) よい (can be boring) Example of auxiliary adjective "ほしい": 帰ってほしい (want to return), 教えてほしい (want to be taught)
The key to identifying auxiliary adjectives is whether there are particles like "く," "で," "て," "は," "も," etc., immediately before them.
Identifying Auxiliary Adjectives
Identifying the auxiliary adjective "ない" can be particularly challenging.
This is because "ない" is used in many words, including auxiliary verbs, regular adjectives, and parts of adjectives, making it difficult to distinguish.
Let's think about which ones are used as auxiliary adjectives.
Which ones are auxiliary adjectives?
私はその本を読んでない。→ "ない" is an auxiliary adjective. 私はその本を読まない。→ "ない" is an auxiliary verb. カバンに入れたはずの辞書がない。→ "ない" is a regular adjective. 片付けをしていないので部屋がきたない。→ "ない" is part of the adjective きたない. 欲しいものは、全ては手に入らないものだ。→ "ない" is an auxiliary verb. 花は水をやらないと育たない。→ "ない" is an auxiliary verb. 彼が運命の相手でないことは確かだ。→ "ない" is an auxiliary adjective. 彼女のフォームは悪くない。→ "ない" is an auxiliary adjective. 少しの迷いもない。 → "ない" is a regular adjective.
The auxiliary adjectives "ない" are in 読んでない, 相手でない, and 悪くない.
Common Mistakes with Adjectives
Difference between "大きい" and "大きな"
大きいコップがある。 彼は私に大きな影響を与えた。
What is the difference between 大きい and 大きな?
Some people answer that 大きい is an adjective, and 大きな is an adjectival verb, but that is incorrect.
In Japanese grammar, "大きい" is an adjective, and "大きな" is a prenominal adjective.
"大きな" can only be used when followed by a noun, so it is neither an adjective nor an adjectival verb, but a prenominal adjective.
In high school Japanese grammar, "大きな" does not fit into any of the conjugations "かろ・かっ・く・い・い・けれ," so it is taught as a prenominal adjective, not an adjective. There are only about 10 prenominal adjectives, so it is recommended to memorize them.
It's quite confusing, isn't it?
So, how do we actually differentiate between "大きい" and "大きな"?
When you look up "大きな" and "大きい" in an online Japanese dictionary, you will find the following example sentences:
・大きい 大きい箱 (big box) 大きい事件 (big incident) 体の大きい人 (person with a big body)
・大きな 大きな格差 (big disparity) 大きな計画 (big plan) 問題の大きなとらえ方 (big way of capturing a problem) 大きな原因 (big cause)
Actually, "大きな" tends to be used with abstract words that are felt with the heart and not visible to the eyes, while "大きい" tends to be used with concrete words.
This difference is subtle and difficult, and it may be hard to explain to non-native speakers of Japanese.
Although it is only a one-letter difference, the nuance changes depending on which one is used in a sentence.
For example,
大きなのっぽの古時計 (a big, tall, old clock) 大きいのっぽの古時計 (a big, tall, old clock)
Doesn't the perception change depending on whether "な" or "い" is used? "大きな" gives the impression of a large and magnificent old clock that feels nostalgic in memory rather than a concrete old clock in front of you, doesn't it?
When you think about it, it's quite a high-level difference.
Adjective Order
When two or more adjectives are used consecutively, there is a natural order: type → subjective evaluation → attribute.
多くの (種類) 素晴らしく (評価) 赤い (属性) 旗 (many wonderful red flags) 赤い (属性) 多くの (種類) 素晴らしい (評価) 旗 (red many wonderful flags)
Being aware of the order of adjectives and constructing sentences accordingly will help you write more readable sentences.