Adjectives (形容詞)

*As you may already know, adjectives are used to describe someone/something.

There are two types of adjectives in Japanese: い Adjectives & な Adjectives.

い形容詞 (い Adjectives)

い Adjectives can be used by attaching them in front of a noun or by themselves.

暗いへや - Dark Room

このへやはくらいです - This room is dark.

• Conjugation is similar to casual verb conjugation.
• Present Positive: Plain form.
• Present Negative: Remove い and add -くない.
• Past Positive: Remove い and add -かった.
• Past Negative: Remove い and add -くなかった.

な形容詞 (な Adjectives)

な Adjectives are used by adding -な between the adjective and noun to modify it or by conjugating with です.

きれいな公園 - Beautiful Park

このこうえんはきれいです - This park is beautiful.

• Conjugation is performed on the copula です.
• Present Positive: Add -だ (when in formal context, use です).
• Present Negative: Add -じゃない (when in formal context, use ではありません).
• Past Positive: Add -だった (when in formal context, use でした).
• Past Negative: Add -じゃなかった (when in formal context, use ではありませんでした).

Combining Adjectives

Conditions for combining adjectives:

• When an い Adjective is first, add くて to the stem.
• 新しくて明るい部屋 - A new and bright room.
• When a な Adjective is first, add で to the stem.
• 静かできれいなアパート - A quiet and clean apartment.
• When adjectives differ in positive/negative connotation, use が to connect them.
• あのレストランは安いですが、汚いです - That restaurant is cheap but dirty.