LESSON NOTES

Learn Japanese Grammar Video -

Absolute Beginner S1 #10
Introduction to Adjectives in
Japanese

CONTENTS
2 Kanji
2 Kana
2 Romanization
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Grammar

# 10
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 KANJI

1.

2.

KANA

1.

2.

ROMANIZATION

1. Kore wa furui desu.

2. Watashi wa hima desu.

ENGLISH

1. This is old.

2. I am not busy.

VOCABULARY

Kanji Kana R omaji English

yasui cheap;Adj (i)

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 shizuka quiet, peaceful

tanoshii enjoyable, fun; i-Adj

old (for inanimate

furui objects);-i adjective

ymei famous ; Adj(na)

free (not busy), free

hima time (-na adjective)

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Butaniku wa yasui desu. Kono ken wa totemo shizuka desu.

Pork is cheap. This park is really peaceful.

Dizunrando wa tanoshii desu. Are wa furui tokei desu ne.

Disneyland is fun. That is an old clock, isn't it.

Ishikawa Ry wa ymei na purogoruf desu. Nichi-ybi wa hima desu ka.

Ry Ishikawa is a famous professional golfer. Are you free on Sunday?

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Le sson Is An Int roduct ion t o Adje ct ive s in Japane se

What are adje ct ive s?

Adjectives are words that describe a noun. "Big," "small," and "red" are all examples of
adjectives. They give us more information about a particular thing. For example, in the
phrase "an old pen," "old" is the adjective. In Japanese, we have two types of adjectives: i-
adje ct ive s and na-adje ct ive s. I-adjectives come directly before the noun, just as in
English: furui pen ("old pen"). When na-adjectives come before a noun, however, we
insert "na" between the adjective and the noun. For example, tokubetsu na pen ("a

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special pen"). That's why this type of adjective is called a na-adjective. The biggest
difference between these two types is in the ways that they conjugate, which we cover in
detail in Conjugation Lesson #3.

i-Adje ct ive s

*Notice how they all end in -i

Kanji Hiragana Romaji English

abunai "dangerous"

akai "red"

akarui "bright"

amai "sweet"

aoi "blue"

atarashii "new"

atatakai "warm"

atsui "hot"

chairoi "brown"

chiisai "small"

chikai "near"

furui "old"

hayai "fast", "early"

hikui "low"

hiroi "wide"

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 / ii / yoi "good"

isogashii "busy"

itai "painful"

karai "hot", "spicy"

karui "light"

kiiroi "yellow"

kitanai "dirty"

kurai "dark"

kuroi "black"

mijikai "short"

muzukashii "difficult"

nagai "long"

i "many", "much"

oishii "delicious"

kii "large"

omoi "heavy"

omoshiroi "interesting"

osoi "slow, late"

samui "cold (weather)"

semai "narrow"

* shoppai "salty"

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 * shio-karai "salty"

shiroi "white"

sukunai "a few", "a little"

suppai "sour"

suzushii "cool"

tadashii "correct"

takai "high", "expensive"

tanoshii "pleasant"

t i "far"

tsumaranai "boring"

tsumetai "cold"

wakai "young"

warui "bad"

yasashii "easy", "kind"

yasui "cheap"

Sample se nt e nce s

i-adjective before copula

Chokorto wa oishii desu.
Chocolate is delicious.

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 i-adjective before a noun

Kore wa oishii chokorto desu.
This is delicious chocolate.

Na-Adje ct ive s

*The na-adjectives in this list are all in the dictionary form. When these na-adjectives
precede a noun, -na has to be added to the dictionary form.

Kanji Hiragana Romaji "English"

anzen "safe"

benri "convenient"

daiji "important"

dame "no good"

fuben "inconvenient"

genki "well", "fine"

heta "unskillful"

hima "free (as in free

time), not busy"

iroiro "various"

jzu "skillful"

kantan "easy", "simple"

kirai "unlikeable"

kirei "clean", "beautiful"

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 nigiyaka "lively"

shinsetsu "kind"

shitsurei "rude"

shizuka "quiet"

suki "likable"

tokubetsu "special"

y mei "famous"

Sample se nt e nce s

na-adjective before copula

T ky wa shizuka desu.
Tokyo is quiet.

na-adjective before noun

Kore wa, shizuka na kuruma desu.
This is a quiet car.

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