Describing objects in Japanese
By the end of this lesson you can look at two objects and say what each one is like: a big desk, a small chair. You will use three words, 大きい (ōkii, big), 小さい (chiisai, small) and きれい (kirei, clean), first at the end of a sentence and then in front of a noun. Every sentence here uses polite です (desu), which is the safe choice with people you don't know well.
A quick warm-up: the spot before です
Two sentences to start: これは本です (kore wa hon desu), "It's a book", and コーヒーが好きです (kōhī ga suki desu), "I like coffee". In both, です closes a polite sentence and what you are saying about the thing comes right before it. Today's words go in that same spot. Remember too that これ (kore) is the thing near you and それ (sore) the thing near the person you're talking to.
- formal
これは本です。
- formal
コーヒーが好きです。
The words you need: 大きい, 小さい, きれい and three objects
Here きれい means "clean", but people also use it for things that are pretty, and the situation tells you which. 椅子 is often written in kana as いす. Its word card shows きれいな; you'll see why below.
Two pieces of second-hand furniture
A customer is looking at used furniture and asks the seller about two pieces. それ is the desk beside the seller; これ is the chair beside her. これは？ with a rising voice means "And this one?"
- Aformal
それは何ですか。
- Bformal
大きい机です。
- Aformal
これは？
- Bformal
小さい椅子です。
- Aformal
きれいですか？
- Bformal
はい、きれいな椅子です。
Say what it's like: これは大きいです
Put the object first, then は (wa), the description and です: 机はきれいです (tsukue wa kirei desu), "The desk is clean." English puts "is" in the middle, but です always waits for the end. When everyone can see what you mean, drop the start and say only きれいです, "It's clean." To ask, add か (ka): きれいですか, "Is it clean?"
- formal
これは大きいです。
- formal
それは小さいです。
- formal
机はきれいです。
- formal
椅子は小さいです。
- formal
きれいです。
Before a noun: 大きい机, but きれいな机
As in English, the description comes before the noun. 大きい and 小さい go straight in: 大きい机 (ōkii tsukue), "a big desk". きれい needs な (na) in between: きれいな机 (kirei na tsukue), "a clean desk". Don't let its final い fool you: きれい belongs with the な words, which is why its word card shows きれいな. That な appears only before a noun, so the end of a sentence is still きれいです. And な does not follow every adjective: 大きいな机 is wrong.
- formal
大きい机です。
- formal
小さい本です。
- formal
きれいな机です。
- formal
はい、きれいな椅子です。
Your turn: describe two objects
Choose two objects you have words for, a desk, a chair or a book, at home or in a room in the World section. Say what the first one is with これは, then what it's like, as in the first two lines below. Do the same with それは for something near the other person. Then swap the object and the description to make new pairs, and check each time whether you need な.
- formal
これは大きい机です。
- formal
きれいです。
- formal
それは小さい椅子です。