How do you tell your friend that their home-cooked meal is delicious? How do you compliment someone? You can’t make a conversation interesting by just nodding and smiling — you need to describe. This is why adjectives — no, Japanese adjectives — are important.
When you’ve learned the basic Japanese sentence patterns, this is the next step. In its essence, adjectives are used to describe or modify a noun. The good thing about the Japanese language is that, unlike English, you don’t have to sort adjectives into an order: does the color “red” come before “hot”; does “new” need to be put after “soft”? It doesn’t matter.
The (slightly) bad news? Japanese adjectives are categorized into two: な-adjectives and い-adjectives — and you need to be careful of them. The easiest way to separate one from the other is by checking the ending — more precisely, whether or not the word ends with an い (i).
Kanji | Romaji | English | Adjective Type |
---|---|---|---|
高い | Takai | High | い-adjective |
低い | Hikui | Low | い-adjective |
元気 | Genki | Healthy; lively | な-adjective |
きれい | Kirei | Pretty; clean | な-adjective |
Of course, the rule isn’t entirely accurate either. Notice that the word げんき and きれい ends with い, when in fact they are na-adjectives? What’s more important is knowing the Japanese grammar particles and modifications (to past, negative or past-negative forms) involved. It can be perplexing at first, especially if you’re new to the game.
A Quick Recap on Na and I Adjectives
Here’s where things get complicated: Japanese I-adjectives modify themselves. For example, when you say “this is not expensive” in English, you’re not actually modifying the word “expensive”. Rather, you’re modifying the “to be” verb.
However, in い-adjectives, you will need to transform the end. Take a look at the table below. We’ll be using the adjective たかい・高い, which means high (depth) or expensive.
Form | Japanese |
---|---|
Present positive | 高い |
Past positive | 高 |
Present negative | 高 |
Past negative | 高 |
な-adjective is more convenient and similar to that of English. Its most defining trait is the な particle put between the adjective and the noun.
田中さんは有名な歌手です。
Tanaka-san wa yuumei na kashu desu.
Tanaka-san is a famous singer
関口先生は親切な人だ。
Sekiguchi-sensei wa shinsetsu na hito da.
Sekiguchi-sensei is a kind person.
When you want to change a na-adjective’s tense — be it to negative, past or past-negative — you cannot transform the stem word itself. Instead, you alter the linking verb: です. To paint a better picture, we’ve set another table using a common N5-level Japanese, 元気・げんき, which means health or lively.
Form | Japanese (Casual) | Japanese (Polite) |
---|---|---|
Present positive | 元気だ | 元気です |
Past positive | 元気だった | 元気でした |
Present negative | 元気じゃない | 元気じゃありません |
Past negative | 元気じゃなかった | 元気じゃありませんでした |
Haven’t fully learned Japanese adjectives? We’ve made a complete guide about all the essential grammar elements, rules and exceptions here (it only takes five minutes, we swear)
Before we go further into the article, note that from now, we’ll be using hiragana for example sentences. If you’re still learning them, don’t worry — take a look at our hiragana chart for the ultimate review.
Table of Content
In English, adjectives are divided into seven fundamental categories: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin and material. In this article, however, we’ll be breaking them down based on how they’re contextually used.
Words with the particle な attached to them indicate na-adjective.
Jump to Japanese adjectives for describing:
- Sense and taste
- Numbers and quantifiers
- Dimensions and speed
- Colors, shapes and textures
- Weather and physical condition
- Social situation and condition
- Positive feelings
- Negative feelings
Japanese Adjectives For Sense and Taste
The word あつい can be easily translated as “hot”, but depending on the context, the kanji used differs. In this category, the あつい we’re referring to takes on the kanji of 熱い instead of 暑い. This is because 熱い implies the hot sensation by touch instead of the surrounding temperature.
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
熱い | あつい | atsui | Hot (touch) |
冷たい | つめたい | tsumetai | Chilly |
あたたかい | atatakai | Warm (touch) | |
美味しい | おいしい | oishii | Delicious |
不味い | まずい | mazui | Disgusting |
塩辛い | しおからい | shiokarai | Salty |
甘い | あまい | amai | Sweet |
苦い | にがい | nigai | Bitter |
酸っぱい | すっぱい | suppai | Sour |
辛い | からい | karai | Spicy |
臭い | くさい | kusai | Smelly |
硬い | かたい | katai | Hard |
柔らかい | やわらかい | yawarakai | Soft |
Japanese Adjectives For Number and Quantifier
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
多い | おおい | ooi | many |
少ない | すくない | sukunai | few |
たくさんな | takusan na | a lot | |
十分な | じゅうぶんな | juubun na | enough |
Japanese Adjectives For Dimension and Speed
Here, note that there are two meanings (and two kanji) for the word はやい: 速い and 早い. 速い is used to describe something or someone’s speed, while 早い has closer meaning to “early”.
田中さんは速いランナーです。
たなかさんははやいランナーです。
Tanaka-san is a fast runner.
去年、春の訪れが早かった。
きょねん、はるのおとずれがはやかった。
Last year, spring came early.
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | Englih |
---|---|---|---|
大きい | おおきい | ookii | Big |
小さい | ちいさい | chiisai | Small |
長い | ながい | nagai | Long |
短い | みじかい | mijikai | Short |
広い | ひろい | hiroi | Wide |
狭い | せまい | semai | Narrow |
深い | ふかい | fukai | Deep |
浅い | あさい | asai | Shallow |
速い | はやい | hayai | Fast (Speed) |
早い | はやい | hayai | Early |
遅い | おそい | osoi | Slow |
高い | たかい | takai | Tall |
低い | ひくい | hikui | Low |
重い | おもい | omoi | Heavy |
軽い | かるい | karui | Light (weight) |
近い | ちかい | chikai | Near |
遠い | とおい | tooi | Far |
太い | ふとい | futoi | Fat; thick |
遅い | おそい | osoi | Thin |
Japanese Adjectives For Colors, Shapes and Texture
Historically, the Japanese language doesn’t make a distinct separation between blue and green. This is why the adjective for the color blue and green is あおい・青い.
However, there is a word to describe green in modern Japanese: みどり・緑, although it is still less commonly used. To use this, instead of attaching the adjective to な, you will use の instead.
緑の地球を守りましょう。
みどりのちきゅうをまもりましょう。
Let’s protect this green earth.
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
青い | あおい | aoi | Blue, green |
黄色い | きいろい | kiiroi | Yellow |
赤い | あかい | akai | Red |
黒い | くろい | kuroi | Black |
白い | しろい | shiroi | White |
明るい | あかるい | akarui | Light |
暗い | くらい | kurai | Dark |
鋭い | するどい | surudoi | Sharp, pointy |
四角い | しかくい | shikakui | Rectangular |
丸い | まるい | marui | Round |
荒い | あらい | arai | Rough |
平らな | たいらな | taira na | Flat |
Japanese Adjectives For Weather and Physical Condition
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
きれいな | kirei na | Pretty, clean | |
美しい | うつくしい | utsukushii | Beautiul, lovely |
かわいい | kawaii | Cute | |
醜い | みにくい | minikui | Ugly |
若い | わかい | wakai | Young |
古い | ふるい | furui | Old |
強い | つよい | tsuyoi | Strong |
弱い | よわい | yowai | Weak |
寒い | さむい | samui | Cold |
暑い | あつい | atsui | Hot |
蒸し暑い | むしあつい | mushiatsui | Humid |
汚い | きたない | kitanai | Dirty |
Japanese Adjectives For Social Situation and Condition
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
良い | よい, いい | yoi, ii | Good, alright, enough |
すごい | sugoi | Amazing, great | |
素晴らしい | すばらしい | subarashii | Wonderful, splendid |
悪い | わるい | warui | Bad |
安全な | あんぜんな | anzen na | Safe |
危ない | あぶない | abunai | Dangerous |
高い | たかい | takai | Expensive |
安い | やすい | yasui | Cheap |
裕福な | ゆうふくな | yuufuku na | Rich |
貧しい | まずしい | mazushii | Poor |
賢い | かしこい | kashikoi | Smart |
忙しい | いそがしい | isogashii | Busy |
詰まらない | つまらない | tsumaranai | Boring |
複雑な | ふくざつな | fukuzatsu na | Complicated |
大切な | たいせつな | taisetsu na | Important |
難しい | むずかしい | muzukashii | Difficult |
簡単な | かんたんな | kantan na | Easy |
変な | へんな | hen na | Weird |
無理な | むりな | muri na | Impossible |
上手な | じょうずな | jouzu na | Skillful |
下手な | へたな | heta na | Unskillful |
煩い | うるさい | urusai | Noisy |
静かな | しずかな | shizuka na | Quiet, peaceful |
Japanese Adjectives For Positive Feelings
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
優しい | やさしい | yasashii | Kind, gentle |
親切な | しんせつな | shinsetsu na | Kind |
好きな | すきな | suki na | Like |
親しい | したしい | shitashii | Close (friendly) |
嬉しい | うれしい | ureshii | Happy |
元気な | げんきな | genki na | Cheerful, healthy, lively |
面白い | おもしろい | omoshiroi | Funny, interesting |
楽しい | たのしい | tanoshii | Enjoyable, fun |
幸せな | しあわせな | shiawase na | Happy |
懐かしい | なつかしい | natsukashii | Nostalgic |
Japanese Adjectives For Negative Feelings
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
ひどい | hidoi | Cruel | |
悲しい | かなしい | kanashii | Sad |
寂しい | さびしい` | sabishii | Lonely |
つらい | tsurai | Painful, bitter | |
羨ましい | うらやましい | urayamashii | Jealous, envious |
嫌いな | きらいな | kirai na | Hate |
心配な | しんぱいな | sinpai na | Worry |
失礼な | しつれいな | shitsurei na | Mean, impolite |
痛い | いたい | itai | Hurt |
What’s Next?
A hundred adjectives might seem overwhelming at first, but with practice, you’ll be able to use them effortlessly in conversations. We like to remind our students to never treat い-adjectives and な-adjectives the same way (there’s no such thing as genkikunai!). While memorizing these Japanese adjectives, be sure to always note their classifications.
Now that you’ve learned how to describe a noun, what happens if you want to describe a verb? An adjective? Or even the whole sentence? How do you transform an adjective into an adverb in Japanese?
Make your conversation more interesting and descriptive by taking look at our guide to top basic Japanese adverbs you need to know.
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