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You are here: Japanese Adjectives Vocabulary
English adjectives are more similar to nouns than to verbs, and they require the copula “be” to become predicators.
On the other hand, Japanese adjectives are more similar to verbs, and they don’t need a copula. They have inflection like verbs.
All Japanese adjectives end with the hiragana い or な if they are in the non-past form.
An adjective consists of a stem and a suffix as verbs do, and the stem never changes while suffixes can change.
The final い or な in the non-past form of an adjective is the suffix and the rest is the stem. Please note that the suffix for the non-past form of verbs is う, and that of adjectives is い or な.
| Japanese Adjective | Stem | Suffix | Meaning |
 |
yo
|
i |
is good
|
 |
atu
|
is hot
|
|
 |
uresi
|
is glad
|
|
おいしいo i shi i |
oishi
|
is tasty
|
Japanese adjectives are similar to verbs, so you can consider them to be a combination of the copula “be” and an adjective in English.
| Kana: |  |
 |
 |
| Romanization | Su | shi | wa |
| Structure |
noun
(sushi) |
topic marker |
|
| Meaning | Sushi is tasty. | ||
 |
 |
|
|
 |
| o | i | shi | i | . |
| adjective (is tasty) |
||||
| Kana: |  |
 |
 |
|
| Romanization | Ki | mo | no | wa |
| Structure |
noun
(kimono) |
topic marker |
||
| Meaning | Kimonos are beautiful. | |||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| u | tu | ku | shi | i | . |
| adjective (is beautiful) |
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JAPANESE ADJECTIVES
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| Japanese | English | |
| 1. | ookii | big, large |
| 2. | chiisai | short |
| 3. | takai | expensive |
| 4. | yasui | cheap |
| 5. | yoi | good |
| 6. | warui | bad |
| 7. | se ga takai | tall |
| 8. | se ga hikui | short |
| 9. | utsukushii | beautiful |
| 10. | minikui | ugly |
| 11. | fukai | deep |
| 12. | asai | shallow |
| 13. | hiroi | wide |
| 14. | semai | narrow |
| 15. | atarashii | new |
| 16. | furuii | old |
| 17. | shinsen na | fresh |
| 18. | kusatta | rotten |
| 19. | atsui | hot |
| 20. | samui | cold (weather) |
| 21. | nagai | long |
| 22. | mijikai | short |
| 23. | atsui | thick |
| 24. | usui | thin |
| 25. | omoi | heavy |
| 26. | karui | light (weight) |
| 27. | akarui | light |
| 28. | kurai | dark |
| 29. | katai | hard |
| 30. | yawarakai | soft |
| 31. | kitanai | dirty |
| 32. | kirei na | clean |
| 33. | chikai | near |
| 34. | tooi | far |
| 35. | hayai | fast |
| 36. | osoi | slow |
| 37. | tsuyoi | strong |
| 38. | yowai | weak |
| 39. | muzukashii | difficult |
| 40. | yasashii | easy |
| 41. | abunai | dangerous |
| 42. | anzenna | safe |
| 43. | kawaita | dry |
| 44. | nureta | wet |
| 45. | tadashii | correct |
| 46. | machigatta | wrong |
| 47. | kantan na | simple |
| 48. | fukuzatsu na | complicated |
| 49. | tashika na | sure |
| 50. | hontou no | true |
| 51. | usoano | false |
| 52. | saisho no | first |
| 53. | saigo no | last |
| 54. | tsugi no | next |
| 55. | zenbu no | all |
| 56. | maimai | each time |
| 57. | yaku ni tatsu | useful |
| 58. | shizuka na | quite |
| 59. | urusai | noisy |
| 60. | meiwaku na | troublesome |
| 61. | juubun na | enough |
| 62. | tarinai | lacking |
| 63. | ippai no | full |
| 64. | isogashii | busy |
| 65. | tadano | free |
| 66. | sukoshi no | a little bit |
| 67. | takusan no | plenty |
| 68. | okane-mochi no | rich |
| 69. | binboo na | poor |
| 70. | onaka ga suita | hungry |
| 71. | nodo ga kawaita | thirsty |
| 72. | iya na | nasty |
| 73. | daiji na | important |
| 74. | marui | round |
| 75. | nioi ga yoi | a good smell |
| 76. | kusai | bad odor |
