List of all Essential Japanese Adjectives
Explore 125 essential Japanese adjectives — both i-adjectives and na-adjectives — with audio pronunciation, conjugations, and example sentences. Each word includes detailed grammar notes and practical usage examples designed for Japanese language learners and JLPT N5–N4 preparation.
Showing 125 of 125 adjectives
| ADJECTIVE | Reading | Meaning | Type | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 青い | あおい | blue | i-adj | |
| 赤い | あかい | red | i-adj | |
| 明るい | あかるい | bright (in reference to personality or weather); cheerful | i-adj | |
| 暖かい | あたたかい | warm | i-adj | |
| 新しい | あたらしい | new | i-adj | |
| 暑い | あつい | hot (in reference to weather), warm | i-adj | |
| 熱い | あつい | hot (objects) | i-adj | |
| 厚い | あつい | kind, warm(hearted), thick, deep | i-adj | |
| 危ない | あぶない | dangerous, critical | i-adj | |
| 甘い | あまい | generous, sweet | i-adj | |
| いい; よい | いい; よい | good | i-adj | |
| 忙しい | いそがしい | busy (people, days) | i-adj | |
| 痛い | いたい | hurt; painful; sore | i-adj | |
| 嫌 | いや | disagreeable, detestable, unpleasant | na-adj | |
| 色々 | いろいろ | various | na-adj | |
| 薄い | うすい | thin, weak | i-adj | |
| うるさい | うるさい | noisy; annoying | i-adj | |
| 美味しい | おいしい | delicious, tasty | i-adj | |
| 多い | おおい | many; there are a lot | i-adj | |
| 大きい | おおきい | big, large | i-adj | |
| 大きな | おおきな | big | na-adj | |
| 遅い | おそい | slow; (to be) late | i-adj | |
| 同じ | おなじ | same, identical | na-adj | |
| 重い | おもい | heavy; serious | i-adj | |
| 面白い | おもしろい | interesting, amusing | i-adj | |
| 辛い | からい | hot and spicy; salty | i-adj | |
| 軽い | かるい | light, non-serious, minor | i-adj | |
| 可愛い | かわいい | cute, adorable | i-adj | |
| 黄色い | きいろい | yellow | i-adj | |
| 汚い | きたない | dirty, unclean, filthy | i-adj | |
| 嫌い | きらい | dislike | na-adj | |
| 綺麗 | きれい | pretty, clean, tidy | na-adj | |
| 暗い | くらい | dark, gloomy | i-adj | |
| 黒い | くろい | black; dark | i-adj | |
| 結構 | けっこう | splendid; enough, tolerably | na-adj | |
| 元気 | げんき | health(y), energetic | na-adj | |
| 寒い | さむい | cold (in reference to weather) | i-adj | |
| 静か | しずか | quiet, calm | na-adj | |
| 上手 | じょうず | be good at, skillful | na-adj | |
| 丈夫 | じょうぶ | strong, solid, durable | na-adj | |
| 白い | しろい | white | i-adj | |
| 好き | すき | liking, fondness, love | na-adj | |
| 少ない | すくない | a little; a few | i-adj | |
| 涼しい | すずしい | cool, refreshing (in reference to weather) | i-adj | |
| 狭い | せまい | narrow; not spacious | i-adj | |
| そば | そば | near, close, beside; Japanese traditional buckwheat noodle | na-adj | |
| 大丈夫 | だいじょうぶ | It's ok (all right); No need to worry; Everything is under control | na-adj | |
| 大好き | だいすき | very like-able, like very much | na-adj | |
| 大切 | たいせつ | important | na-adj | |
| 大変 | たいへん | very; difficult, hard | na-adj | |
| 高い | たかい | tall, high; expensive | i-adj | |
| 楽しい | たのしい | enjoyable, fun | i-adj | |
| 小さい | ちいさい | small, little | i-adj | |
| 近い | ちかい | near, close by, short | i-adj | |
| 茶色 | ちゃいろ | brown | na-adj | |
| つまらない | つまらない | boring, dull; insignificant | i-adj | |
| 冷たい | つめたい | cold (things, people) | i-adj | |
| 強い | つよい | strong, powerful | i-adj | |
| 遠い | とおい | far (away), distant | i-adj | |
| 長い | ながい | long, lengthy | i-adj | |
| にぎやか | にぎやか | bustling, busy | na-adj | |
| 温い | ぬるい | lukewarm | i-adj | |
| 早い | はやい | early | i-adj | |
| 速い | はやい | fast, quick | i-adj | |
| 低い | ひくい | short, low | i-adj | |
| 広い | ひろい | spacious; wide; broad | i-adj | |
| 太い | ふとい | fat, thick | i-adj | |
| 古い | ふるい | old (in reference to objects, not people), aged, ancient | i-adj | |
| 下手 | へた | unskillful, poor | na-adj | |
| 便利 | べんり | convenient, handy | na-adj | |
| 細い | ほそい | thin, slender, fine | i-adj | |
| 本当 | ほんとう | real, true | na-adj | |
| まずい | まずい | terrible (in reference to food), unappetizing, unpleasant (taste) | i-adj | |
| まっすぐ | まっすぐ | straight (ahead), direct | na-adj | |
| 丸い; 円い | まるい | round, circular | i-adj | |
| 短い | みじかい | short (length) | i-adj | |
| 難しい | むずかしい | difficult | i-adj | |
| 易しい | やさしい | easy, plain, simple | i-adj | |
| 安い | やすい | inexpensive; cheap (things) | i-adj | |
| 有名 | ゆうめい | famous | na-adj | |
| 弱い | よわい | weak | i-adj | |
| りっぱ | りっぱ | splendid, fine | na-adj | |
| 若い | わかい | young | i-adj | |
| 悪い | わるい | bad, sinful; inferior | i-adj | |
| 苦い | にがい | bitter | i-adj | |
| 心配 | しんぱいする | worry, concern | na-adj | |
| 別 | べつ | distinction, different | na-adj | |
| 柔らかい | やわらかい | soft (in reference to texture), tender | i-adj | |
| だめ | だめ | useless, no good, hopeless | na-adj | |
| 大事 | だいじ | important, valuable, serious matter | na-adj | |
| 必要 | ひつよう | necessary | na-adj | |
| 厳しい | きびしい | hard; rigorous; strict | i-adj | |
| 深い | ふかい | deep, profound | i-adj | |
| 悲しい | かなしい | sad, sorrowful | i-adj | |
| 盛ん | さかん | prosperous, active, thriving | na-adj | |
| 浅い | あさい | shallow, superficial | i-adj | |
| 残念 | ざんねん | regret; regrettable | na-adj | |
| 丁寧 | ていねい | polite, courteous, careful | na-adj | |
| 怖い | こわい | scary, frightening | i-adj | |
| 無理 | むり | unreasonable, impossible | na-adj | |
| 恥ずかしい | はずかしい | ashamed, embarrassed | i-adj | |
| 美しい | うつくしい | beautiful, lovely | i-adj | |
| 素晴らしい | すばらしい | wonderful; terrific | i-adj | |
| おかしい | おかしい | strange; odd; funny | i-adj | |
| 変 | へん | strange, odd | na-adj | |
| 確か | たしか | if I remember correctly; certain, definite | na-adj | |
| 細かい | こまかい | small; fine, minute | i-adj | |
| 珍しい | めずらしい | unusual, rare | i-adj | |
| 寂しい | さびしい | lonely, lonesome | i-adj | |
| 真面目 | まじめ | diligent, serious | na-adj | |
| よろしい | よろしい | (hon.) good, OK, all right | i-adj | |
| 凄い | すごい | terrific, great | i-adj | |
| ひどい | ひどい | terrible, awful, unfair, cruel | i-adj | |
| うまい | うまい | delicious; skillful; fortunate | i-adj | |
| 十分 | じゅうぶん | enough | na-adj | |
| 遠く | とおく | far away, distant | na-adj | |
| 正しい | ただしい | correct | i-adj | |
| 堅; 硬; 固い | かたい | solid, hard, firm | i-adj | |
| 普通 | ふつう | common; usual | na-adj | |
| 眠い | ねむい | sleepy, drowsy | i-adj | |
| 優しい | やさしい | kind (person), gentle (person), easy (problem) | i-adj | |
| 簡単 | かんたん | simple | na-adj | |
| 特別 | とくべつ | special | na-adj | |
| 急 | きゅう | urgent, sudden; steep | na-adj | |
| 嬉しい | うれしい | to be happy; to be glad | i-adj |