In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use adjectives to describe nouns. Just like verbs, Japanese adjectives change their form depending on the tense and whether the sentence is positive or negative.
Two Types of Adjectives: 「い-adjectives」 and 「な-adjectives」
Japanese has two main types of adjectives. The rules for how they change are different, so it’s important to know which is which.
- 「い-adjectives」: These adjectives always end in the hiragana い.
- Example: たかい (takai) – expensive, high
- Example: おいしい (oishii) – delicious
- 「な-adjectives」: These adjectives are usually words that don’t end in い, but you add な before the noun they modify.
- Example: げんきな (genki na) – healthy, energetic
- Example: しずかな (shizuka na) – quiet
Present Tense: Describing Now
The rules for present tense are simple.
「い-adjectives」
You use the adjective as it is.
- この 本 は たかい です。 (kono hon wa takai desu.)This book is expensive.
「な-adjectives」
You must add です after the adjective.
- メアリーさん は げんき です。 (Mary-san wa genki desu.)Mary is energetic.
Past Tense: Describing the Past
To describe something in the past, you change the adjective’s form.
「い-adjectives」
Drop the final い and add かった (katta).
- この 本 は たかかったです。 (kono hon wa takakatta desu.)This book was expensive.
「な-adjectives」
Add でした (deshita) after the adjective.
- きのう、メアリーさん は げんきでした。 (kinou, Mary-san wa genki deshita.)Yesterday, Mary was energetic.
Modifying Nouns with Adjectives
You can also use adjectives to describe a noun directly. The rules are different for each type of adjective.
「い-adjectives」
The adjective goes directly before the noun.
- たかい 本 (takai hon)an expensive book
「な-adjectives」
You must add な after the adjective and before the noun.
- しずかな 町 (shizuka na machi)a quiet town
Talking about Likes and Dislikes: 「すきな」 and 「きらいな」
The adjectives 「すきな」 (suki na) and 「きらいな」 (kirai na) are special. They are 「な-adjectives」 even though they don’t look like it. You use them with the particle 「が」 (ga) to show what you like or dislike.
- すきな (suki na): To like
- 私は にほんご が すき です。 (watashi wa nihongo ga suki desu.)I like Japanese.
- きらいな (kirai na): To dislike
- 私は やさい が きらい です。 (watashi wa yasai ga kirai desu.)I dislike vegetables.
With these simple rules, you can now start describing the world around you in Japanese!