In English, an adjective describes, or “modifies,” a noun. Japanese adjectives can
do the same—but they can also function as verbs. You’ll learn more about adjectives
as verbs in a future lesson. In this lesson, we’ll concentrate on using adjectives
to modify nouns, just like you’re used to in English.
There are two types of adjectives in the Japanese language. Each type follows its
own simple pattern when modifying nouns in the present positive tense.
-I Adjectives
The -i adjectives are fairly simple to identify. All –i adjectives end in “i,” but
not all adjectives that end in “i” are automatically –i adjectives. Memorization
and understanding how –i adjectives function are key to distinguishing whether or
not an adjective is an –i adjective, although you can be assured that any adjective
that ends in “ii” is an –i adjective.
-i adjectives have characteristics similar to verbs in the Japanese language because
they are actually conjugated like verbs according to tense and positive/negative
rules. They can also act as a verb and be the only word in a sentence. This will
become clearer in the next lesson.
Remove the “i” at the end of any -i adjective and you have what’s called the adjective
stem. For example, the adjective stem of “oishii” is “oishi-” and
the adjective stem of “warui” is “waru-.” You will need to use the
adjective stem in the next lesson when you learn how Japanese adjectives are treated
like verbs.
When modifying nouns in the present positive tense, -i adjectives are simply placed
in front of a noun, just as they are in English. For example, “oishii tabemono”
means “delicious food.” Practice using these common –i adjectives with any nouns
you know:
|
-i Adjective
|
English
|
-i Adjective
|
English
|
|
akai
|
red
|
mazui
|
bad-tasting
|
|
amai
|
sweet (taste-wise)
|
mijikai
|
short
|
|
aoi
|
blue
|
muzukashii
|
difficult
|
|
atarashii
|
new
|
nagai
|
long
|
|
atsui
|
hot
|
oishii
|
delicious
|
|
chairoi
|
brown
|
okashii
|
strange/odd
|
|
chiisai
|
small
|
omoshiroi
|
fun/funny
|
|
chikai
|
near
|
osoi
|
slow/late
|
|
furui
|
old
|
samui
|
cold
|
|
hayai
|
fast/early
|
shiroi
|
white
|
|
hazukashii
|
embarrassed/shy
|
takai
|
expensive
|
|
ii
|
good
|
tooi
|
long
|
|
isogashii
|
busy
|
urusai
|
loud/noisy
|
|
kawaii
|
cute
|
wakai
|
young
|
|
kiiroi
|
yellow
|
warui
|
bad
|
|
kowai
|
frightening/scary
|
yasashii
|
easy
|
|
kuroi
|
black
|
yasui
|
cheap
|