Japanese Adjectives
Japanese has two kinds of adjectives — い-adjectives and な-adjectives — and each conjugates for tense and negation just like verbs do. These guides cover both types across present, past, negative, and te-form, plus how to use adjectives as adverbs and nouns.
23 grammar points
い-Adjectives | How They Work
Adjectives ending in い that conjugate directly
Na-Adjectives | な-Adjectives
Descriptive words that need な before nouns
Adjective Plain Present | ～い / ～だ
It is ~ (casual present tense for adjectives)
Adjective Polite Present | ～いです / ～です
It is ~ (polite present tense for adjectives)
Adjective Polite Negative | ～くないです / ～じゃありません
It is not ~ (polite negative for adjectives)
Adjective Plain Negative | ～くない / ～じゃない
It is not ~ (casual negative for adjectives)
Adjective Polite Past | ～かったです / ～でした
It was ~ (polite past tense for adjectives)
Adjective Plain Past | ～かった / ～だった
It was ~ (casual past tense for adjectives)
Adjective Polite Past Negative | ～くなかったです / ～じゃありませんでした
It was not ~ (polite past negative for adjectives)
Adjective Plain Past Negative | ～くなかった / ～じゃなかった
It was not ~ (casual past negative for adjectives)
Adjective Te-Form | ～くて / ～で
Connecting adjectives (~ and ~)
Adjectives as Adverbs | ～く / ～に
Turn adjectives into adverbs (quickly, quietly, etc.)
Adjective + する | ～くする / ～にする
To make something ~ (change a state)
Adjectives as Nouns | ～の
Use の to replace a noun after an adjective (a big one, the red one)
Describing Appearance | ～は…が～
Describe someone's physical features (X has ~ eyes, ~ hair)
ほしい | Saying You Want Something in Japanese
Want (a thing)
好き・嫌い | Likes and Dislikes in Japanese
Like / dislike — adjectives, not verbs
なる | Becoming Something in Japanese
To become ~ (a change of state)
すぎる | Saying 'Too Much' in Japanese
Too ~, excessively ~
一番 | Superlatives in Japanese
The most ~, the ~est
のが上手・下手 | Being Good or Bad at Something
Good at / bad at doing something
やすい・にくい | Easy and Hard to Do
Easy to ~ / hard to ~
がる | Describing Someone Else's Feelings
Shows signs of ~, appears to feel ~
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