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) 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:

• しずか (quiet) — ends in か
• げんき (healthy, energetic) — ends in き
• べんり (convenient) — ends in り
• 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 しずか, not しずかな. 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 まちは しずかです。 "This town is quiet."

きのうは しずかでした。 "Yesterday was quiet."

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

きのうの よるは しず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:

がくせいだ / がくせいじゃない / がくせいだった / がくせいじゃなかった しずかだ / しずかじゃない / しずかだった / しずかじゃなかった

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

げんき (healthy, energetic):

おかあさんは げんきです。 "Your mother is well."

きのうは げんきでした。 "Yesterday I was energetic."

さいきん、げんきじゃありません。 "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."

べんり (convenient):

この アプリは べんりです。 "This app is convenient."

あの みせは べんりじゃありません。 "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 ほん = an expensive book

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

しずかな 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 ゆうめいな えいが = a famous movie げんきな こども = an energetic child べんりな ばしょ = a convenient place しんせつな 人 = a kind person にぎやかな まち = a lively town

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

しずかな まちに すんでいます。 "I live in a quiet town."

ゆうめいな レストランで たべました。 "I ate at a famous restaurant."

げんきな 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:

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

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

あの せんせいは しんせつで 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 へやは ひろくて しずかです。 "This room is spacious and quiet."

Here, ひろい (い-adjective) becomes ひろくて, and しずか (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 まちは しずかで ふるくて いいです。 "This town is quiet, old, and good."

Here, しずか (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 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)

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

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

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

きらいな たべもの = a disliked food (correct) きらくない (wrong)

きらいじゃありません (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 すき and きらい — The が Pattern

すき (liked) and きらい (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.

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

さかなが きらいです。 さかな [subject] きらい-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 すき and きらい 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 すきです。 (correct) コーヒーを すきです。 (wrong — すき 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 すきです。 わたし [topic] コーヒー [subject] すき-です "I like coffee." (Literally: "As for me, coffee is liked.")

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

いもうとは やさいが きらいです。 "My younger sister dislikes vegetables."

だいすき and だいきらい — Intensified forms

Adding だい (大) to すき and きらい creates intensified versions:

チョコレートが だいすきです。 "I love chocolate."

なつが だいきらいです。 "I hate summer."

だいすき and だいきらい are also な-adjectives and follow all the same rules:

だいすきな えいが = a movie I love だいきらいな きせつ = a season I hate チョコレートが だいすきでした。 = "I loved chocolate (in the past)." やさいが だいすきじゃありません。 = "I don't love vegetables."

14.7 じょうず and へた — The が Pattern for Skill

じょうず (skillful) and へた (unskillful) follow the same が pattern as すき and きらい. They describe a person's ability level at a skill or activity.

田中さんは にほんごが じょうずです。 田中さん [topic] にほんご [subject] じょうず-です "Tanaka-san is good at Japanese."

わたしは りょうりが へたです。 "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 じょうずです。 "Yamada-san is good at piano."

あには えいごが へたです。 "My older brother is bad at English."

Cultural note: じょうず is for others

In Japanese culture, じょうず is typically used to describe other people's skills, not your own. Saying わたしは にほんごが じょうずです ("I am good at Japanese") sounds boastful. When speaking about your own abilities, use とくい (strong point, what one is good at) instead:

わたしは りょうりが とくいです。 "I'm good at cooking." (modest, appropriate for self)

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

わたしは うんどうが にがてです。 "I'm not great at exercise." (softer than へた)

The social dimension:

All four of these — じょうず, へた, とくい, にがて — are な-adjectives and take the が pattern for the skill or activity.

14.8 Reading Passage — わたしの まちと 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 まちは とうきょうの ちかくに あります。あまり 大きくないですが、しずかで きれいな まちです。えきの ちかくに ゆうめいな レストランが あります。りょうりが とても おいしくて、いつも にぎやかです。

わたしは りょうりが だいすきです。まいにち うちで ばんごはんを つくります。にほんりょうりが とくいです。さかなの りょうりを よく つくります。でも、おかしを つくるのは にがてです。

あねは りょうりが へたです。でも、あねは おんがくが じょうずです。まいにち ピアノを れんしゅうしています。しずかな きょくが すきです。わたしは にぎやかな おんがくの ほうが すきですが、あねの ピアノも とても きれいです。

いまの せいかつは たいへんですが、たのしいです。まちは べんりで、ともだちは しんせつで、まいにちが いろいろです。ひまな 日は、こうえんで ほんを よみます。かんたんな にほんごの ほんを 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.

しずかで きれいな まちです — "a quiet and beautiful town." Two な-adjectives chained: しずか takes the て-form で, and きれい takes な to modify まち.

にほんりょうりが とくいです — "I am good at Japanese food (cooking)." とくい is used here about oneself, which is the appropriate choice over じょうず.

おかしを つくるのは にがてです — "Making sweets is not my strong point." The の here turns the verb phrase おかしを つくる 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.

おんがくの ほうが すきです — "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.

かんたんな にほんごの ほんを よんでいます — "I am reading easy Japanese books." かんたんな modifies にほんごの ほん — the whole phrase means "simple Japanese books." よんでいます is the ている progressive form of よむ.

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, ゆうめい, and 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: しずかな まち, きれいな 人, ゆうめいな えいが. This is the feature that gives them their name.

The て-form of な-adjectives is で, which allows chaining: しずかで 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 — すき, きらい, じょうず, へた, とくい, 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 — まちの すきな ところ

わたしは がくせいです。まちに すきな ところが たくさん あります。

えきの ちかくに しずかな 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 きっさてんが いちばん すきです。ここで よく ほんを よみます。てんいんさんも しんせつで、きもちがいいです。

えきの まえに にぎやかな しょうてんがいが あります。やすくて おいしい みせが おおいです。わたしは やきとりの みせが すきです。でも、ラーメンの みせは あまり すきじゃないです。おとが うるさくて、ちょっと にがてです。

がっこうの ちかくに きれいな こうえんが あります。はるに さくらが きれいで、ゆうめいです。わたしは おんがくが すきですから、ここで よく ギターを れんしゅうします。ギターは あまり じょうずじゃないですが、たのしいです。

この まちは べんりで、ひとが しんせつで、とても いい まちです。わたしは この まちの せいかつが 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

しずかな きっさてん — "a quiet coffee shop." な-adjective modifying a noun with な.

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

にがてです — "not great at / uncomfortable with." A な-adjective expressing weakness or discomfort with something.

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

じょうずじゃないですが — "am not skillful, but..." The negative of じょうず followed by が for contrast.

べんりで、ひとが しんせつで — 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