い-adjective & な-adjective : Introduction
- Romy Sensei
- Jan 8
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 12
Japanese adjectives fall mainly into two categories: い-adjectives and な-adjectives.
い-Adjectives
Japanese い-adjectives end with い [i] in their dictionary form.
[ex.1] おおきい : large
[ex.2] あつい : hot
[ex.3] やすい : cheap, inexpensive
When an い-adjective modifies a noun, it keeps the 「い」.
That’s why we call them い-adjectives.
[ex.4] おおきい ねこ : big cat
[ex.5] あつい おちゃ: hot tea
[ex.6] やすい くつ : cheap shoes
な-Adjectives
Japanese な-adjectives do not end with な [na] in their dictionary form.
In fact, many of them sound more like nouns.
[ex.7] げんき : healthy, energetic
[ex.8] しずか : quiet
[ex.9] ひま : having a lot of free time
They are called な-adjectives because 「な」 is added when they modify a noun.
[ex.10] げんきな いぬ : energetic dog
[ex.11] しずかな カフェ: quiet cafe
[ex.12] ひまな にちようび : Sunday when I have a lot of free time
Conjugations
い-adjectives and な-adjectives conjugate in different ways.
Below, you’ll see how to conjugate adjectives from their dictionary form to use them as predicates, such as “is ___,” “is not ___,” “was ___,” and “was not ___.”
◼️い-adjective conjugation
おおきい (=big) | |
おおきい です (= is big) Just attach です [desu] | おおき かった です (= was big) Remove い [i] at the end, then attach かったです [kattadesu] |
おおき く ない です (= is not big) Remove い [i] at the end, then attach くないです [kunaidesu] | おおき く な かった です (= was not big) Remove い [i] at the end, then attach くなかったです [kunakattadesu] |
◼️な-adjective conjugation
げんき (=healthy, energetic) | |
げんき です (= is healthy) Just attach です [desu] | げんき でした (= was healthy) Just attach でした [deshita] |
げんき じゃ ない です (= is not healthy) Just attach じゃないです [janaidesu] | げんき じゃ なかった です (= was not healthy) Just attach じゃなかったです [janakattadesu] |
な-adjectives not only sound like nouns; they also conjugate in almost the same way as nouns.
◼️Noun conjugation
がくせい (=student) | |
がくせい です (= is a student) Just attach です [desu] | がくせい でした (= was a student) Just attach でした [deshita] |
がくせい じゃ ない です (= is not a student) Just attach じゃないです [janaidesu] | がくせい じゃ なかった です (= was not a student) Just attach じゃなかったです [janakattadesu] |
な-adjectives not only sound like nouns; they also conjugate in almost the same way as nouns.
Conjugating い-adjectives like な-adjectives, or vice versa, is a very common mistake.
The best way to practice is to say and write the conjugations yourself.
Use the PDF below to create your own conjugation table and practice!
We’ll continue with “How to Conjugate いい（いい＝good）” next!
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