Japanese adjectives are either verbal adjectives or adjectival no
uns. Those in the first group, in their dictionary form, end only in -ai, -ii, -oi, or -ui, and are therefore sometimes called -i adjectives. Those in the second group have noun-like characteristics and when they modify nouns have the suffix -na and are sometimes called -na adjectives.
I-adjectives
An -i adjective can modify a following noun.
私は小さいねこを飼っています。
Watashi wa chiisai neko o katte imasu.
I have a small cat.
The stem of an -i adjective is formed by dropping the final -i, so that, for example, the stem of chisaii is chisai-. An -i adjective may be conjugated to give different tenses:
| Present: |
[stem] + -i |
| Past: |
[stem] + -katta |
| Negative: | [stem] + -kunai |
| Negative past: |
[stem] + -kunakatta |
| Continuative: | [stem] + -kute |
The associated verb is in the present tense.
この本は面白いです。
Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu.
This book is interesting.
あの本も面白かったです。
Ano hon mo omoshirokatta desu.
That book was interesting too.
今日は寒くないです。
Kyou wa samukunai desu.
Today it’s not cold.
昨日も寒くなかったです。
Kinou mo samukunakatta desu.
Yesterday it wasn’t cold either.
この本は面白くて楽しいです。
Kono hon wa omoshirokute tanoshii desu.
This book is interesting and enjoyable.
na-adjectives
The -na adjectives can be used as predicates or as noun modifiers.
あの人は有名です。
Ano hito wa yuumei desu.
He is famous.
公園は静かではありませんでした。
Kouen wa shizuka dewa arimasen deshita.
The park wasn’t quiet.
静かな部屋がほしいです。
Shizukana heya ga hoshii desu.
I want a quiet room.
Colors
The following colour words may be used alone as adjectives:
| 赤い | akai | red | 黄色い | kiiroi | yellow |
| 青い | aoi | blue,green | 黒い | kuroi | black |
| 茶色い | chairoi | brown | 白い | shiroi | white |
When these words are used as nouns, the final i is dropped:
車は赤いです。
Kuruma wa akai desu.
The car is red.
赤はいい色です。
Aka wa ii iro desu.
Red is a nice colour.
The following colour words are nouns and must be followed with no:
| 茶色の | chairo no | brown | 緑色の | midoriiro no | green |
| 銀色の | giniro no | silver | 紫の | murasaki no | purple |
| 灰色の | haiiro no | gray | 鼠色の | nezumiiro no | gray |
| 黄色の | kiiro no | yellow | オレンジの | orenji no | orange |
| 金色の | kiniro no | gold |
This page is a part of “Some Notes on Japanese Grammar” published for your personal use, with the kind permission of Keith Smillie (http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~smillie/)
Related posts:
6:12 pm on October 18th, 2010
“Midori”, as well as many other colors, only has a noun form in Japanese. Green leaves, for example, is “midori(iro) no ha”– notice that the particle is “no”, the same one used when a noun or pronoun describes another noun. If you look at the list at the bottom of the page, you will see that “midori” is already listed there, in the form “midoriiro.” “iro” just means “color.”
5:58 pm on October 18th, 2010
Green would be 緑 or みどり (midori).
2:15 am on August 12th, 2010
gerund is when a noun is formed from a verb.
11:13 am on August 20th, 2009
“Gerund” is a misleading term for the -te form of a verb, and it is simply wrong for the -kute form of an adjective. I have changed it to “continuative.” Using a continuative form of a verb or adjective signals that another verb or adjective will follow. For adjectives, the -kute form can usually be translated “[adjective] and…”, as omoshirokute is translated in the example sentence given.
8:03 am on August 20th, 2009
when using -kute, don’t need to use “to”?
5:15 am on February 24th, 2009
I’t s what you call progressive tense.
In english, when the verbs have the -ing form.
12:46 am on January 28th, 2009
what’s gerund??