When learning a new language, verbs and conjugations go hand in hand. But in Japanese, that’s not the only part of speech that’s conjugated! Japanese adjectives get the past, present, and future treatment, too. To describe people, weather, food, and more, understanding Japanese adjective conjugation is important for clear communication.
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How do Japanese adjectives work?
Japanese adjectives are split into two categories: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. They are named and identified based on how the word ends, similar to how Japanese verbs can be called u-verbs and ru-verbs.
When using them, remember what adjectives are. Adjectives describe nouns or noun phrases. This typically presents itself in one of two ways. Nouns can be preceded by an adjective, as in “a beautiful bird,” or described after the noun, as in “the bird is beautiful.” This is not to be confused with adverbs, which explain how an action is done, as in “the bird flew beautifully.”
Japanese i-adjectives
All i-adjectives end in the Japanese character i (い), so they’re easy to identify. They are also the most common type of adjective and function most similarly to English adjectives.
Japanese na-adjectives
Japanese na-adjectives are a little more unique. They are also known as keiyoudoushi (形容動詞), or “adjectival nouns.” The na (な) is only used when the adjective goes before the noun it’s describing. The good news is that na-adjective conjugation is really just the conjugation of the Japanese word for “to be,” making them easier to use in a sentence.
Common Japanese adjectives lists
What Japanese adjectives should you learn first? Words pertaining to daily life are a good place to start. One of the standard phrases Japanese learners see first is the question “How are you doing?” and its answer, which both use the adjective for “healthy” or “energetic.”
- Ogenki desu ka?（お元気ですか？） = How are you doing? (Literally: Are you well?)
- Genki desu. (元気です。） = I’m doing well.
This is but one of several adjectives you may find useful when first starting Japanese. Many of the adjectives below are perfect for adding to your repertoire of Japanese words and phrases for travel!
Japanese adjectives for general use
| Adjective type | Japanese | English |
| i-adjective | いいii | good |
| i-adjective | 悪い（わるい）warui | bad |
| i-adjective | 危ない（あぶない）abunai | dangerous |
| na-adjective | 大丈夫（だいじょうぶ）daijōbu | okay |
| i-adjective | 面白い（おもしろい）omoshiroi | interesting |
| na-adjective | 大変（たいへん）taihen | tough (situation) |
Japanese adjectives to describe objects
| Adjective type | Japanese | English |
| i-adjective | 小さい（ちいさい）chiisai | small |
| i-adjective | 大きい（おおきい）ōkii | big |
| i-adjective | 古い（ふるい）furui | old |
| i-adjective | 新しい（あたらしい）atarashii | new |
| i-adjective | 冷たい（つめたい）tsumetai | cold (touch) |
| i-adjective | 熱い（あつい）atsui | hot (touch) |
| i-adjective | 軽い（かるい）karui | light |
| i-adjective | 重い（おもい）omoi | heavy |
| i-adjective | 安い（やすい）yasui | cheap |
| i-adjective | 高い（たかい）takai | expensive; tall |
Japanese adjectives to describe a person
| Adjective type | Japanese | English |
| na-adjective | 元気（げんき）genki | healthy; energetic |
| na-adjective | 静か（しずか）shizuka | quiet |
| i-adjective | うるさいurusai | noisy |
| na-adjective | 上手（じょうず）jōzu | skilled |
| na-adjective | 下手（へた）heta | unskillful; awkward |
| i-adjective | 強い（つよい）tsuyoi | strong |
| i-adjective | 弱い（よわい）yowai | weak |
| i-adjective | 背が高い（せがたかい）se ga takai | tall |
| i-adjective | 背が低い（せがひくい）se ga hikui | short |
| i-adjective | 美しい（うつくしい）utsukushii | beautiful |
Japanese adjectives to describe weather and places
| Adjective type | Japanese | English |
| i-adjective | 寒い（さむい）samui | cold (weather) |
| i-adjective | 暑い（あつい）atsui | hot (weather) |
| i-adjective | 涼しい（すずしい）suzushii | cool |
| i-adjective | 暖かい（あたたかい）atatakai | warm |
| i-adjective | 明るい（あかるい）akarui | bright |
| i-adjective | 暗い（くらい）kurai | dark |
| i-adjective | 広い（ひろい）hiroi | wide |
| i-adjective | 狭い（せまい）semai | narrow |
| i-adjective | 汚い（きたない）kitanai | dirty |
| na-adjective | きれい（きれい）kirei | beautiful; clean |
Grammar note: Some tricky na-adjectives, like kirei, end in i and conjugate like normal na-adjectives. They are few and far between but need special attention to ensure they are used correctly.
Japanese adjectives to describe food
| Adjective type | Japanese | English |
| i-adjective | 美味しい（おいしい）oishii | delicious |
| i-adjective | 酸っぱい（すっぱい）suppai | sour |
| i-adjective | 甘い（あまい）amai | sweet |
| i-adjective | 辛い（からい）karai | spicy |
| i-adjective | 苦い（にがい）nigai | bitter |
Grammar note: In English, the words “like” and “dislike” are verbs, but in Japanese, they’re adjectives! “Like” (suki, 好き) and “dislike” (kirai, 嫌い) are both na-adjectives, but the contradiction of them being verbs in English and adjectives in Japanese means implementing them is a little more complicated. To keep things simple, all you need to say is Suki desu for “I like it” when you want to tell someone you’re fond of something.
>> Curious about how to pronounce all of these adjectives? Master your Japanese pronunciation here!
How to conjugate i-adjectives in Japanese
Like verbs, the present and future tense conjugations for Japanese i-adjectives are exactly the same. If you’re worried about how hard it is to learn Japanese, this is one aspect that makes Japanese a little easier. Unlike verbs, there is only one letter these adjectives end in, meaning the conjugation is the same across all i-adjectives.
The single irregular i-adjective in Japanese is ii (いい), which means “good.” Based on the alternative word for good, yoi (良い), the first i will change to yo in its conjugations. It is also used in several compound words, making it a versatile adjective in Japanese.
Present and future conjugations of Japanese i-adjectives
Technically, the dictionary form of the adjective doesn’t need to be conjugated at all! Depending on where the adjective is used in the sentence and if you are being polite or casual, the conjugated “to be” word desu may or may not be added. It is acceptable to not use desu if you’re having a casual conversation.
| Dictionary form | Affirmative form | English |
| 小さい（ちいさい）chiisai | 小さいですchiisai desu | is small |
| 大きい（おおきい）ōkii | 大きいですōkii desu | is big |
| 古い（ふるい）furui | 古いですfurui desu | is old |
| いいii | いいですii desu | is good |
The negative form is conjugated by dropping the i at the end of the word and replacing it with -kunai. Desu is added if the word is being used formally. You may recognize the -nai part of the ending if you’re already familiar with Japanese verb conjugations.
| Dictionary form | Negative form | English |
| 小さい（ちいさい）chiisai | 小さくないですchiisakunai desu | is not small |
| 大きい（おおきい）ōkii | 大きくないですōkikunai desu | is big |
| 古い（ふるい）furui | 古くないですfurukunai desu | is old |
| いいii | よくないですyokunai desu | is not good |
When using adjectives in a sentence, whether the adjective goes before or after the nouns it’s describing determines if desu is needed. Because desu is the Japanese word for “to be,” it will only appear in the conjugation itself if the adjective is at the end of the sentence.
- Hana wa chiisai desu. (花は小さいです。）= The flower is small.
- Chiisai hana desu.（小さい花です。）= It is a small flower.
Past conjugations of Japanese i-adjectives
The past conjugations are also constructed by dropping the i at the end of the word and replacing it with a new ending. For the affirmative form, this is -katta, with the optional desu.
| Dictionary form | Affirmative form | English |
| 甘い（あまい）amai | 甘かったですamakatta desu | was sweet |
| 辛い（からい）karai | 辛かったですkarakatta desu | was spicy |
| 新しい（あたらしい）atarashii | 新しかったですatarashikatta desu | was new |
| いいii | よかったですyokatta desu | was good |
The past negative form for adjectives is also similar to the plain form version for verbs. Drop the i and add -kunakatta for the past negative form of i-adjectives.
| Dictionary form | Negative form | English |
| 甘い（あまい）amai | 甘くなかったですamakunakatta desu | was not sweet |
| 辛い（からい）karai | 辛くなかったですkarakunakatta desu | was not spicy |
| 新しい（あたらしい）atarashii | 新しくなかったですatarashikunakatta desu | was not new |
| いいii | よくなかったですyokunakatta desu | was not good |
Grammar note: Rather than conjugating this form from the dictionary form, it may help to think of it as conjugating the present / future negative form. To do this, drop the i from the present / future negative form (which already includes -kunai) and add -katta.
How to conjugate na-adjectives in Japanese
Na-adjective conjugations are, in truth, an extension of the “to be” conjugation. All you need to do is attach the appropriate conjugation of desu to the end of the na-adjective and you’re done!
| Japanese | English |
| ですdesu | is |
| じゃありません・じゃないja arimasen / ja nai | is not |
| でしたdeshita | was |
| じゃありませんでした・じゃなかったja arimasen-deshita / ja nakatta | was not |
You can see this in the following examples:
- Tomodachi wa nihongo ga jōzu desu.（友達は日本が上手です。）= My friend is skilled in Japanese.
- Akachan wa shizuka ja arimasen.（赤ちゃんは静かじゃありません。）= The baby isn’t quiet.
When do you use na in na-adjectives?
Na only appears in na-adjectives when the adjective goes before a noun. Because na-adjectives are already less common than i-adjectives, this can be easy to forget, but it is important to include.
- Kirei na umi o mitai desu.（きれいな海を見たいです。）= I want to see a pretty ocean.
- Taihen na mondai desu.（大変な問題です。）= This is a tough problem.
How to conjugate Japanese adjectives with te-form
One of the other common conjugations in Japanese is te-form. This is unique to Japanese and takes its name from the te (て) at the end of the conjugation. With adjectives, it’s primarily used to connect them instead of using the particle “and.”
For i-adjectives, drop the final i and add -kute. For na-adjectives, add the te–form of desu, which is de (で), to the end of the word.
| Dictionary form | Te-form | English |
| 小さい（ちいさい）chiisai | 小さくてchiisakute | small |
| 大きい（おおきい）ōkii | 大きくてōkikute | big |
| いいii | よくてyokute | good |
| 元気（げんき）genki | 元気でgenki de | healthy; energetic |
| 静か（しずか）shizuka | 静かでshizuka de | quiet |
| きれい（きれい）kirei | きれいでkirei de | beautiful; clean |
Connecting adjectives using te-form
Using te-form with adjectives is straightforward and very common. Because “and” is not used with adjectives or verbs, te-form is essential.
- Sushi wa yasukute, oishii desu.（寿司は安くて、美味しいです。）= Sushi is cheap and delicious.
- Nyū yōku wa urusakute, nigiyaka na tokoro desu.（ニューヨークはうるさくて賑やかなところです。）= New York is a noisy and lively place.
Watch out for nouns that act like adjectives in Japanese
Some words used to describe nouns are not adjectives but are nouns themselves. Colors in Japanese are one of the most common examples. The noun form of the i-adjectives below is the same word without the i. For example, the noun form of akai (赤い, red) is aka (赤).
| Adjective type | Japanese | English |
| i-adjective | 赤い（あかい）akai | red |
| i-adjective | 青い（あおい）aoi | blue |
| i-adjective | 白い（しろい）shiroi | white |
| i-adjective | 黒い（くろい）kuroi | black |
| i-adjective | 黄色い（きいろい）kiiroi | yellow |
| i-adjective | 茶色い（ちゃいろい）chairoi | brown |
| noun | 紫（むらさき）murasaki | purple |
| noun | 灰色（はいいろ）haiiro | gray |
| noun | ピンクpinku | pink |
| noun | オレンジorenji | orange |
The way to use nouns as descriptors is by including the Japanese particle no (の). Particles are a Japanese grammar component that identifies the role the words around them play in the sentence. There are many particles in Japanese grammar, but the use of no is to attribute the noun following no with the quality of the noun preceding it. This works for words like countries, too!
- Orenji no neko（オレンジの猫）= orange cat
- Nihon no tsūka（日本の通貨）= Japanese currency
Key takeaways about Japanese adjectives
Japanese adjective conjugation is an important part of learning Japanese, and it’s not complicated when you break down adjectives into the two types. Keep these notes in mind, and you’ll conjugate Japanese adjectives with ease:
- The two types of adjectives in Japanese are i-adjectives and na-adjectives.
- All conjugations of i-adjectives involve dropping the final i and attaching a new ending.
- The word “to be” (desu, です) is used in both types but is only conjugated for na-adjectives.
- Na-adjectives only use na when preceding a noun.
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