Chapter 14 — な-Adjectives

Chapter 13 introduced い-adjectives — words that end in い, conjugate by replacing that い, and can modify nouns directly. You now know how to negate them, put them in the past, chain them with くて, and place them before nouns. That was one half of the Japanese adjective system. This chapter covers the other half.

な-adjectives behave differently from い-adjectives in almost every way. They do not end in a consistent suffix. They conjugate using the copula, not by changing their own form. They require the particle な to modify nouns. Understanding how they work — and how to tell them apart from い-adjectives — is essential for reading any Japanese beyond the most basic sentences.

14.1 What Is a な-Adjective?

A な-adjective is a word that describes a quality or state, just like an い-adjective. The difference is structural, not semantic. Compare:

たかい — expensive (い-adjective) 有名ゆうめい — famous (な-adjective)

Both describe qualities. Both can appear as predicates ("X is expensive," "X is famous"). Both can modify nouns ("an expensive book," "a famous person"). But they follow different grammatical rules for doing so.

い-adjectives have a built-in conjugation system. They carry their own inflectional ending — the い — and they modify that ending to express negation, past tense, and so on. な-adjectives do not. They are, grammatically speaking, closer to nouns than to い-adjectives. When a な-adjective appears as a predicate, it needs the copula (です/だ) to complete the sentence, exactly like a noun. When it modifies a noun, it needs な between itself and the noun, rather than attaching directly.

No distinctive ending

い-adjectives are identifiable by their final い. な-adjectives have no such marker. Their dictionary forms simply end in whatever sound the word happens to end in:

• 静しずか (quiet) — ends in か
• 元気げんき (healthy, energetic) — ends in き
• 便利べんり (convenient) — ends in り
• 大変たいへん (tough, hard) — ends in ん

There is no pattern to these endings. You cannot look at an unfamiliar word and determine from its form alone that it is a な-adjective. You must learn each one. This book marks な-adjectives explicitly when they are introduced, and dictionaries do the same (typically with the label な-adj, 形容動詞, or by listing the word with な attached).

The dictionary form

Dictionaries list な-adjectives without the な. You will find 静か, not 静かな. The な only appears when the adjective is placed before a noun. Think of な as a grammatical connector, not part of the word itself.

14.2 Conjugation — The Four Forms

な-adjectives conjugate using the copula. If you learned the plain and polite forms of the copula in Chapters 5 and 12, you already know how to conjugate な-adjectives. The adjective stem stays unchanged; only the copula changes.

Polite forms

Examples:

この 町まちは 静しずかです。 "This town is quiet."

昨日きのうは 静かでした。 "Yesterday was quiet."

ここは 静かじゃありません。 "This place is not quiet."

昨日の 夜よるは 静かじゃありませんでした。 "Last night was not quiet."

Plain forms

These are identical to the plain forms of noun + copula sentences. Compare:

学生がくせいだ / 学生じゃない / 学生だった / 学生じゃなかった 静かだ / 静かじゃない / 静かだった / 静かじゃなかった

The pattern is exactly the same. This is not a coincidence. な-adjectives are, at a deep grammatical level, nouns that happen to describe qualities. They take the copula because they are not true adjectives in the way い-adjectives are. Some grammar references call them 形容動詞 (adjectival verbs), and others call them な-nouns. The label does not matter. What matters is that you conjugate them like nouns.

Additional examples across all four polite forms

元気げんき (healthy, energetic):

お母かあさんは 元気です。 "Your mother is well."

昨日は 元気でした。 "Yesterday I was energetic."

最近さいきん、元気じゃありません。 "Lately, I haven't been well."

あのとき、げんきじゃありませんでした。 "At that time, I wasn't well."

便利べんり (convenient):

この アプリは 便利です。 "This app is convenient."

あの 店みせは 便利じゃありません。 "That store is not convenient."

14.3 Prenominal Use — The な Connector

When an い-adjective modifies a noun, it attaches directly:

たかい 本ほん = an expensive book

When a な-adjective modifies a noun, it requires な between the adjective and the noun:

静しずかな 町まち = a quiet town

This な is mandatory. Without it, the sentence is ungrammatical. You cannot say しずか まち. The な functions as a connector that tells the listener: "this adjective modifies the following noun."

More examples:

きれいな 人 = a beautiful person 有名ゆうめいな 映画えいが = a famous movie 元気げんきな 子供こども = an energetic child 便利べんりな 場所ばしょ = a convenient place 親切しんせつな 人 = a kind person 賑にぎやかな 町 = a lively town

These modified nouns can then appear in any position a regular noun would occupy:

静かな 町に 住すんでいます。 "I live in a quiet town."

有名な レストランで 食たべました。 "I ate at a famous restaurant."

元気な 友達ともだちが います。 "I have an energetic friend."

Notice that the particle after the noun (に, で, が) functions normally. The な-adjective + な + noun behaves as a single noun phrase.

14.4 て-Form for Chaining — で

In Chapter 13, you learned that い-adjectives chain with くて:

やすくて おいしい = cheap and delicious

な-adjectives chain with で:

静しずかで きれいな 町まちです。 "It's a quiet and beautiful town."

ここは 便利べんりで 賑にぎやかです。 "This place is convenient and lively."

あの 先生せんせいは 親切しんせつで 有名ゆうめいです。 "That teacher is kind and famous."

The で here is the て-form of the copula だ. Since な-adjectives conjugate with the copula, their て-form uses the copula's て-form. This is consistent: い-adjectives have their own て-form (くて), and な-adjectives borrow the copula's て-form (で).

Mixing い-adjectives and な-adjectives

You can chain い-adjectives and な-adjectives in the same sentence. Each one uses its own て-form:

この 部屋へやは ひろくて 静かです。 "This room is spacious and quiet."

Here, ひろい (い-adjective) becomes ひろくて, and 静か (な-adjective) appears at the end with です. The order does not matter grammatically, but the last adjective in the chain takes the final form (です, だ, etc.), while all preceding adjectives take their respective て-forms.

この 町は 静かで ふるくて いいです。 "This town is quiet, old, and good."

Here, 静か (な-adjective) takes で, ふるい (い-adjective) takes くて, and いい (い-adjective) takes the final です.

14.5 Tricky な-Adjectives That Look Like い-Adjectives

This is where learners make the most mistakes. Several common な-adjectives end in い, which makes them look like い-adjectives. They are not. If you treat them as い-adjectives and try to conjugate them with くない or かった, you will produce ungrammatical Japanese.

The most important ones:

きれい (beautiful, clean) — This is a な-adjective.

きれいな 花はな = a beautiful flower (correct) きれいい はな (wrong — this is not an い-adjective)

きれいです (correct) きれくないです (wrong)

きれいじゃありません (correct)

有名ゆうめい (famous) — This is a な-adjective.

有名な 人 = a famous person (correct) ゆうめいい 人 (wrong)

嫌きらい (disliked) — This is a な-adjective.

嫌いな 食たべ物もの = a disliked food (correct) きらくない (wrong)

嫌いじゃありません (correct)

Why these are な-adjectives

The い in these words is not the い-adjective ending. It is part of the word's stem. Consider:

• きれい comes from 綺麗, a word of Chinese origin. The い is the reading of the kanji 麗.
• ゆうめい comes from 有名. The い is the reading of the final part of 名.
• きらい comes from 嫌い. The い is part of the stem.

A rough test: if you remove the final い from a word and what remains is not a recognizable stem that could take other い-adjective endings, the word is probably a な-adjective. Removing い from たかい gives たか, which happily takes other endings: たかくない, たかかった. Removing い from きれい gives きれ, which cannot take くない or かった in any recognizable way. This test is not foolproof, but it catches most cases.

The safest approach is simply to memorize which adjectives are な-type. There are not many deceptive ones. きれい, ゆうめい, and きらい are the three you will encounter most frequently at this level.

14.6 好すき and 嫌きらい — The が Pattern

好き (liked) and 嫌い (disliked) are な-adjectives that describe the speaker's feelings about something. They are not verbs. Japanese does not say "I like X" with a verb the way English does. Instead, it says "X is liked" — treating the feeling as a state.

日本料理にほんりょうりが 好きです。 日本料理 [subject] 好き-です "I like Japanese food." (Literally: "Japanese food is liked.")

魚さかなが 嫌いです。 魚 [subject] 嫌い-です "I dislike fish." (Literally: "Fish is disliked.")

The が particle

Notice that the thing liked or disliked takes が, not を. This is because 好き and 嫌い are adjectives, not verbs. In Japanese, adjectives take a subject (marked with が), not an object (marked with を). The thing that is liked is the grammatical subject of the adjective.

コーヒーが 好きです。 (correct) コーヒーを 好きです。 (wrong — 好き is not a verb)

If the overall topic is the person doing the liking, は marks the person and が marks the thing liked:

わたしは コーヒーが 好きです。 わたし [topic] コーヒー [subject] 好き-です "I like coffee." (Literally: "As for me, coffee is liked.")

田中さんは 音楽おんがくが 好きです。 "Tanaka-san likes music."

妹いもうとは 野菜やさいが 嫌いです。 "My younger sister dislikes vegetables."

大好だいすき and 大嫌だいきらい — Intensified forms

Adding だい (大) to 好き and 嫌い creates intensified versions:

チョコレートが 大好きです。 "I love chocolate."

夏なつが 大嫌いです。 "I hate summer."

大好き and 大嫌い are also な-adjectives and follow all the same rules:

大好きな 映画えいが = a movie I love 大嫌いな 季節きせつ = a season I hate チョコレートが 大好きでした。 = "I loved chocolate (in the past)." 野菜が 大好きじゃありません。 = "I don't love vegetables."

14.7 上手じょうず and 下手へた — The が Pattern for Skill

上手 (skillful) and 下手 (unskillful) follow the same が pattern as 好き and 嫌い. They describe a person's ability level at a skill or activity.

田中さんは 日本語にほんごが 上手です。 田中さん [topic] 日本語 [subject] 上手-です "Tanaka-san is good at Japanese."

わたしは 料理りょうりが 下手です。 "I am bad at cooking."

The activity or skill takes が. The person takes は as the topic.

やまださんは ピアノが 上手です。 "Yamada-san is good at piano."

兄あには 英語えいごが 下手です。 "My older brother is bad at English."

Cultural note: 上手 is for others

In Japanese culture, 上手 is typically used to describe other people's skills, not your own. Saying わたしは 日本語が 上手です ("I am good at Japanese") sounds boastful. When speaking about your own abilities, use 得意とくい (strong point, what one is good at) instead:

わたしは 料理が 得意です。 "I'm good at cooking." (modest, appropriate for self)

Similarly, 下手 can sound harsh when applied to others. For a gentler expression about your own weaknesses, use 苦手にがて (not one's strong suit):

わたしは 運動うんどうが 苦手です。 "I'm not great at exercise." (softer than 下手)

The social dimension:

All four of these — 上手, 下手, 得意, 苦手 — are な-adjectives and take the が pattern for the skill or activity.

14.8 Reading Passage — わたしの 町まちと 好すきな こと

Read the following passage. It uses な-adjectives from this chapter alongside grammar from previous chapters. Try to identify each な-adjective and its form before checking the translation.

わたしの 町まちは 東京とうきょうの 近ちかくに あります。あまり 大きくないですが、静しずかで きれいな 町です。駅えきの 近くに 有名ゆうめいな レストランが あります。料理りょうりが とても おいしくて、いつも 賑にぎやかです。

わたしは 料理が 大好だいすきです。毎日まいにち うちで 晩ばんご飯はんを 作つくります。日本料理にほんりょうりが 得意とくいです。魚さかなの 料理を よく 作ります。でも、お菓子おかしを 作るのは 苦手にがてです。

姉あねは 料理が 下手へたです。でも、姉は 音楽おんがくが 上手じょうずです。毎日 ピアノを 練習れんしゅうしています。静かな 曲きょくが 好すきです。わたしは 賑やかな 音楽の ほうが 好きですが、姉の ピアノも とても きれいです。

今いまの 生活せいかつは 大変たいへんですが、たのしいです。町は 便利べんりで、友達ともだちは 親切しんせつで、毎日が いろいろです。暇ひまな 日は、公園こうえんで 本ほんを 読よみます。簡単かんたんな 日本語にほんごの 本を 読よんでいます。

Translation

My town is near Tokyo. It is not very big, but it is a quiet and beautiful town. Near the station there is a famous restaurant. The food is very delicious, and it is always lively.

I love cooking. Every day I make dinner at home. I am good at Japanese food. I often make fish dishes. But I am not great at making sweets.

My older sister is bad at cooking. But she is good at music. She practices piano every day. She likes quiet pieces. I prefer lively music, but my sister's piano is also very beautiful.

My current life is tough, but enjoyable. The town is convenient, my friends are kind, and every day is varied. On free days, I read books in the park. I am reading easy Japanese books.

Notes on the Passage

あまり 大きくないです — "not very big." あまり with a negative predicate means "not very much." 大きい is an い-adjective, so its negative is 大きくない.

静かで きれいな 町です — "a quiet and beautiful town." Two な-adjectives chained: 静か takes the て-form で, and きれい takes な to modify 町.

日本料理が 得意です — "I am good at Japanese food (cooking)." 得意 is used here about oneself, which is the appropriate choice over 上手.

お菓子を 作るのは 苦手です — "Making sweets is not my strong point." The の here turns the verb phrase お菓子を 作る into a noun phrase ("the act of making sweets"). This nominalization pattern is formally introduced in a later chapter. For now, recognize that の after a plain-form verb turns it into a noun.

音楽の ほうが 好きです — "I prefer (lively) music." The ほうが construction for comparison is formally introduced in a later chapter. For now, recognize it as meaning "prefer X" or "X is more [adjective]."

いろいろです — "is various / is varied." いろいろ functions as a な-adjective here, used as a predicate with です.

簡単な 日本語の 本を 読んでいます — "I am reading easy Japanese books." 簡単な modifies 日本語の 本 — the whole phrase means "simple Japanese books." 読んでいます is the ている progressive form of 読む.

14.9 Chapter Summary

な-adjectives are the second adjective type in Japanese. They differ from い-adjectives in three fundamental ways.

First, they have no distinctive dictionary-form ending. You must learn which adjectives are な-type. Be especially careful with きれい, 有名ゆうめい, and 嫌きらい — words that end in い but are な-adjectives, not い-adjectives.

Second, they conjugate using the copula, not by changing their own form. The stem never changes. You attach です/でした/じゃありません/じゃありませんでした (polite) or だ/だった/じゃない/じゃなかった (plain). This is the same system used for noun + copula sentences.

Third, they require な when placed before a noun: 静しずかな 町まち, きれいな 人, 有名な 映画えいが. This is the feature that gives them their name.

The て-form of な-adjectives is で, which allows chaining: 静かで きれいです ("quiet and beautiful"). This parallels the くて chaining of い-adjectives, and the two types can be mixed freely in a single sentence.

Several important な-adjectives — 好すき, 嫌い, 上手じょうず, 下手へた, 得意とくい, 苦手にがて — take the が particle for the thing liked, disliked, or the skill in question. This が pattern is consistent across all of them and must not be confused with the を that marks verb objects.

With this chapter and the previous one, you now have the complete adjective system for Japanese at this level. い-adjectives and な-adjectives cover all the descriptive words you will encounter in everyday Japanese. The remaining question — how to combine adjectives with other grammar patterns — builds on the plain forms you learned in Chapter 12 and will be explored in later chapters.

Reading Passage 2 — 町まちの 好すきな ところ

わたしは 学生がくせいです。町まちに 好すきな ところが たくさん あります。

駅えきの 近ちかくに 静しずかな 喫茶店きっさてんが あります。コーヒーが とても おいしいです。わたしは この 喫茶店が いちばん 好きです。ここで よく 本ほんを 読よみます。店員てんいんさんも 親切しんせつで、きもちがいいです。

駅の 前まえに 賑にぎやかな 商店街しょうてんがいが あります。やすくて おいしい 店みせが おおいです。わたしは やきとりの 店が 好きです。でも、ラーメンの 店は あまり 好きじゃないです。音おとが うるさくて、ちょっと 苦手にがてです。

学校がっこうの 近くに きれいな 公園こうえんが あります。春はるに 桜さくらが きれいで、有名ゆうめいです。わたしは 音楽おんがくが 好きですから、ここで よく ギターを 練習れんしゅうします。ギターは あまり 上手じょうずじゃないですが、たのしいです。

この 町は 便利べんりで、ひとが 親切で、とても いい 町です。わたしは この 町の 生活せいかつが 大好だいすきです。

Translation

I am a student. There are many places I like in my town.

Near the station there is a quiet coffee shop. The coffee is very delicious. I like this coffee shop the best. I often read books here. The staff is also kind, and it feels nice.

In front of the station there is a lively shopping street. There are many cheap and delicious restaurants. I like the yakitori restaurant. But I don't really like the ramen restaurant. It's noisy and I'm not great with that.

Near the school there is a beautiful park. In spring the cherry blossoms are beautiful, and it is famous. I like music, so I often practice guitar here. I'm not very good at guitar, but it's fun.

This town is convenient, the people are kind, and it is a very good town. I love life in this town.

Notes on the Passage

静かな 喫茶店 — "a quiet coffee shop." な-adjective modifying a noun with な.

好きじゃないです — "don't like." The polite negative of the な-adjective 好き.

苦手です — "not great at / uncomfortable with." A な-adjective expressing weakness or discomfort with something.

好きですから — "because I like..." から after a polite form gives a reason.

上手じゃないですが — "am not skillful, but..." The negative of 上手 followed by が for contrast.

便利で、ひとが 親切で — Two な-adjectives chained with で (the て-form of な-adjectives).

Vocabulary

New vocabulary introduced in this chapter. The ピッチ column indicates pitch accent: ⓪ = flat (heiban), ① = drops after mora 1, ② = drops after mora 2, and so on.

な-Adjectives

Nouns

Verbs

Other