Adjectives in Japanese

Level A1

Adjectives in Japanese

This lesson gives you twenty everyday Japanese adjectives and shows you how to describe people and things with them. As in English, the adjective comes before the noun (新しい車, atarashii kuruma, "a new car"), but unlike English it changes its own ending to say "not" or to join another adjective. 美しい (utsukushii) is the textbook word for "beautiful", but in everyday speech people say きれい (kirei), which means both "pretty" and "clean". Most examples use the polite です (desu) you'd use with people you don't know well; the apartment dialogue between friends uses the casual forms, with だ (da) or nothing at all.

Twenty everyday adjectives: いい, 悪い, 大きい, 小さい…

  • いいgood
  • 悪(わる)いbad
  • 大(おお)きいlarge
  • 小(ちい)さいsmall
  • 美(うつく)しいbeautiful
  • 醜(みにく)いugly
  • 新(あたら)しいnew
  • 古(ふる)いold
  • 簡単(かんたん)なeasy
  • 難(むずか)しいdifficult
  • 高(たか)いexpensive
  • 安(やす)いcheap
  • 熱(あつ)いhot
  • 冷(つめ)たいcold
  • きれいなclean
  • 汚(よご)れたdirty
  • 長(なが)いlong
  • 短(みじか)いshort
  • 背(せ)が高(たか)いtall
  • 重(おも)いheavy

Saying what something is like: このかばんは重いです

かばんは重いです。

The adjective before the noun: いい本

いい本です。

Two kinds of adjective: 難しい言語, 簡単な問題

A Japanese adjective always goes right before the noun, just as in English: 古い家 (furui ie), "an old house". There are two kinds. Most end in い (i), like 新しい, 難しい or 古い, and go straight in front of the noun: 新しいスマホ (atarashii sumaho), "a new phone".

The other kind, the な-adjectives, need な (na) before a noun but drop it before です: これは簡単な問題です (kantan na mondai), "This is an easy question", but この練習問題は簡単です (kantan desu), "This exercise is easy." きれい (kirei) is one of them even though it ends in い: きれいな部屋 (kirei na heya), "a clean room".

高い, 高いです, 高くないです: eight adjectives in three forms

Before a nounPolite (です)Polite negative
高(たか)い〜高いです高くないです
新(あたら)しい〜新しいです新しくないです
古(ふる)い〜古いです古くないです
難(むずか)しい〜難しいです難しくないです
大(おお)きい〜大きいです大きくないです
いい〜いいですよくないです
簡単(かんたん)な〜簡単です簡単じゃないです
きれいな〜きれいですきれいじゃないです

No agreement: the adjective changes its own ending

Like English adjectives, Japanese ones never change for masculine, feminine or plural: この靴は高いですね (kono kutsu wa takai desu ne) is "These shoes are expensive", with no plural anywhere. What does change is the adjective's own ending. An い-adjective swaps its final い for くない (kunai) to say "not": 高い (takai) → 高くないですよ, "It's not expensive." A な-adjective adds じゃない (ja nai) instead: それは簡単じゃないですよ (kantan ja nai desu yo), "It isn't easy."

One adjective is irregular: いい (ii, good) becomes よくない (yoku nai), never いくない. In a shop you'll also hear the more formal 高くありません (takaku arimasen): it means the same as 高くないです.

Saying "not" with an adjective: 高くないです

高くないです。

Two adjectives together: 小さくて安い, 静かで

English joins two adjectives with "and" or a comma, but Japanese changes the ending of the first one instead. An い-adjective swaps its final い for くて (kute): 小さくて安いホテルです (chiisakute yasui hoteru desu), "It's a small, cheap hotel." A な-adjective takes で (de): 静かで、すごくきれいだよ (shizuka de, sugoku kirei da yo), "It's quiet and really clean." Only the last adjective shows whether you're speaking politely or casually: 小さくて軽いですよ, "It's small and light." Don't use と (to) here: it joins nouns, not adjectives.

とても and 本当に: very and really

車はとても古いです。

Talking about a new apartment, casually: 新しい部屋はどう？

Buying a bag, politely: 新しいバッグを探しているんですが

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