First off, Happy 令和 Reiwa Era, everyone!! It was a great 平成 Heisei, but starting 5/1/2019, we’ll see what the future brings~
Let’s start with just a giant mass of common adjective vocabulary.
| 日本語 | Romanji | Meaning | Adjective Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 暑い | Atsui | Hot (weather) | i-adjective |
| 熱い | Atsui | Hot (to the touch) | i-adjective |
| 暖かい | Attakai | Warm (weather) | i-adjective |
| 寒い | Samui | Cold (weather) | i-adjective |
| 冷たい | Tsumetai | Cold (to the touch) | i-adjective |
| ずるい | Zurui | Tricky, sneaky | i-adjective |
| 鈍い | Noroi | Slow, laggy | i-adjective |
| 固い | Katai | Hard | i-adjective |
| やわらかい | Yawarakai | Soft | i-adjective |
| 遅い | Osoi | Slow | i-adjective |
| 早い | Hayai | 1) Fast 2) Early | i-adjective |
| 小さい、小っちゃい | Chiisai, Chicchai | Small, little | i-adjective |
| 大きい | Ookii | Big | i-adjective |
| 綺麗、美しい | Kirei, Utsukushii | Beautiful | na-adjective, i-adjective |
| 可愛い | Kawaii | Cute | i-adjective |
| かっこいい | Kakkoii | Cool (used like opposites with kawaii) | i-adjective |
| おしゃれ、立派 | Oshare, Rippa | Stylish, fancy | na-adjective |
| 変、可笑しい | Hen, Okashii | Weird, strange, funny | na-adjective, i-adjective |
| 高い | Takai | 1) Expensive 2) Tall | i-adjective |
| 安い | Yasui | Cheap, inexpensive | i-adjective |
| 狭い | Semai | Narrow (for roads, small rooms, etc.) | i-adjective |
| 広い | Hiroi | Wide, vast (for open spaces) | i-adjective |
| 若い | Wakai | Young | i-adjective |
| 古い | Furui | Old (can’t be used for people, only things or places) | i-adjective |
| 痛い | Itai | Painful | i-adjective |
| 痒い | Kayui | Itchy | i-adjective |
| しんどい、辛い | Shindoi, Tsurai, Kurushii | Painful, difficult | i-adjective |
| 難しい | Muzukashii | Hard, difficult to do | i-adjective |
| 簡単、優しい | Katan, Yasashii | Easy | na-adjective, i-adjective |
| 優しい、親切 | Yasashii, Shinsetsu | Nice | i-adjective, na-adjective |
| 有名 | Yuumei | Famous | na-adjective |
| 元気 | Genki | Energetic, healthy | na-adjective |
| 静か | Shizuka | Quiet | na-adjective |
| 賑やか | Nigiyaka | Loud, busy, lively | na-adjective |
| 自然 | Shizen | Natural | na-adjective |
| 大切、大事 | Taisetsu, Daiji | Important | na-adjective |
| 危ない、危険 | Abunai, Kiken | Dangerous | i-adjective, na-adjective |
| 真面目 | Majime | Serious | na-adjective |
| 重い | Omoi | Heavy | i-adjective |
| 軽い | Karui | Light (weight) | i-adjective |
| 嫌い | Kirai | Hate, dislike | na-adjective |
| 好き、大好き | Suki, Daisuki | Like, love | na-adjective |
| 愛しい | Itoshii | Beloved, lovely | i-adjective |
| 良い | Ii | Good | i-adjective |
| 甘い | Amai | Sweet (to the taste, or how someone is treated) | i-adjective |
| まずい | Mazui | Bad, Bad-tasting | i-adjective |
| 美味しい、うまい | Oishii, Umai | Good-tasting | i-adjective |
| 上手、上手い | Jyouzu, Umai | Skilled | na-adjective, i-adjective |
| 強い | Tsuyoi | Strong | i-adjective |
| 弱い | Yowai | Weak | i-adjective |
| 凄い | Sugoi | Great, awesome, amazing | i-adjective |
| キモイ | Kimoi | Gross, nasty | i-adjective |
| 楽しい | Tanoshii | Fun | i-adjective |
| 忙しい | Isogashii | Busy | i-adjective |
| 暇 | Hima | Free (like free time) | na-adjective |
There are two different kinds of adjectives
There are two different kinds of 形容詞 keiyoushi (adjectives) in Japanese: I-Adjectives and Na-Adjectives. In general, I-Adjective words end with an “i”, while Na-Adjectives tend to be nouns that you can add a “na” or “no” to the end of to create an adjective.
The I-adjectives and Na-adjectives both conjugate differently, so it’s important to know which of these two forms you’re using.
I-Adjectives
Let’s start with the I-Adjectives, since they’re pretty basic. Note the “i” at the end of the word. Here’s the grammatical breakdown:
| Positive (Present Tense) | Negative (Present Tense) | Positive (Past Tense) | Negative (Past Tense) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高い | 高くない | 高かった | 高くなかった |
| Takai (expensive, tall) | Takaku nai | Takakatta | Takaku nakatta |
To make it negative: Drop the “i”, add “ku”, then add “nai” (nai = negative)
To make it past tense: Drop the “i” and add “katta”
To make it negative past tense: Drop the “i”, add “ku”, then add “nakatta” (AKA past tense of “nai”)
Let’s try out some phrases using these vocabs:
- この (Kono) = this (followed with the noun)
- ゲーム (Geemu) = game
- 全然 (Zenzen) = not at all
(Note Nooooote: “Sentence Ending Particles” explanation to come for those who find it hard to spot the difference between the “ne“s and “na“s and “yo“s.)
| Positive (Present Tense) | Negative (Present Tense) | Positive (Past Tense) | Negative (Past Tense) |
|---|---|---|---|
| このゲームは高いね… | このゲームは全然高くないね！ | このゲーム、高かったー！ | このゲームは高くなかったよ。 |
| Kono geemu wa takai ne… | Kono geemu wa zenzen takaku nai ne! | Kono geemu taka katta-! | Kono geemu wa takaku nakatta yo. |
| This game is expensive… | This game isn’t expensive at all! | This game was sooo expensive! | This game wasn’t expensive. |
Na-Adjectives
Na-Adjectives have more variety in how you can use them, considering they start off as nouns that you can add a “na” or “no” to the end of to magically create an adjective.
| Positive (Present Tense) | Negative (Present Tense) | Positive (Past Tense) | Negative (Past Tense) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 元気な | 元気じゃない・元気ではない | 元気だった | 元気じゃなかった・元気ではなかった |
| Genki na | Genki jyanai / Genki dewanai | Genki datta | Genki jyanakatta / Genki dewa nakatta |
To make it negative: Add “jyanai” or “dewa nai” to the end
To make it past tense: Add “datta” to the end or “deshita” (for formal speech)
To make it negative past tense: Add “jya” or “dewa”, then “nakatta” (remember, “nakatta” = past tense of “nai”)
Let’s try making sentences with these vocabs:
- 犬 Inu = Dog
- 私 Watashi = I, me
- 彼 Kare = He
- なんか Nanka = Like (“things like”, “something like”, “so”… You know how us Westerners always say “Like”? That’s nanka.)
| Positive (Present Tense) | Negative (Present Tense) | Positive (Past Tense) | Negative (Past Tense) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 元気な犬だね！ | なんか、元気じゃないね… | 私は元気だったよ。 | 彼は元気じゃなかったんだね… |
| Genki na inu dane! | Nanka, genki jyanai ne… | Genki datta yo. | Kare ha genki jyanakattan dane… |
| What a lively doggo! | Are you not feeling well? | I felt fine. | Oh, he wasn’t feeling well… |
More wakamono twists
Now I’m going to add some twists on Japanese adjectives to make you sound a little more fluent (or more specifically, like a wakamono).
For sounding like a male wakamono
If you want to sound guy-ish when using I-Adjectives, just change the “ai”, “oi”, or “ii” sound to an “ee” sound.
EXAMPLES for “AI”, “OI”, and “II” ending sounding adjectives:
やばい Yabai = やべー Yabee (Spoiler! Explanation of yabai below!)
おそい Osoi = おせー Osee
かわいい Kawaii = かわぇーKawaee
If it ends in “ui”, keep the “u” and just add an “ee” after it.
EXAMPLES for “UI” ending sounding adjectives:
やすい Yasui = やすぇーYasuee
Another note for sounding male-ish is if the ending sound has a “yai”, “yui”, or “yoi” ending, drop the ending starting with “y” and just add the “ee” sound.
はやい Hayai = はぇー Haee
かゆい Kayui = かぇー Kaee
つよい Tsuyoi = つえー Tsuee
For emphasis
If you want to add emphasis to your adjectives, drop the “i”, then shorten the middle of the word by using a small “tsu” (っ).
Quick reminder: The small “tsu” creates a short pause in the word, instead of actually making a “tsu” sound.
EXAMPLES:
たかい Takai = たっか！ Takka!
いたい Itai = いった！ Itta!
くさい Kusai = くっさ！ Kussa!
Every Japanese teenager’s favorite adjective: YABAI
「それやばい！」
“Sore yabai!”
「えっ、これやばいんだけど！」
“Eh, Kore YABAI n dakedo!”
「やべーな！」
“YabbEE na!”
「やばいね！」
“Yabai ne!”
「あの映画やばかったけど！」
“Ano eiga yabakatta kedo!”
The ways in which you can use yabai is literally countless. In short, I would translate it to how we, in the US, use “crazy”.
Crazy can have good meanings. Crazy can have bad meanings. You can use it to describe pretty much any person, place, or thing (depending on your point-of-view). You can pretty much use it anywhere, and because of that, it has kind of sort of lost any sense of meaning, so that when you say “That was crazy,” I literally don’t even know what you mean unless I can see your face directly. Because with words alone, it’s futile to understand.
That’s yabai.
Back in the day, yabai only had a negative meaning, like “not good” kind of meaning. But as times change, so do words, and now it’s mostly used by younger crowds. And it’s used to describe pretty much anything under the sun.
Another interesting factoid is that yabai is used all throughout Japan. Which might not sound that fantastic, considering Japan is a small island country. But despite its size, Japan is a country with a LOT of dialects. Where all the variation we see of English here in the US is a “Southern accent vs Vanilla”, or “soda vs pop” argument, Japanese is a language that’s very rich in local history and dialects, where entire words, phrases, vocal pitch, and accent change depending on the area of Japan.
You might think this is mostly old-school, and you’d be right for the most part, since Japanese language started using the Tokyo dialect as standard. That’s the only one they use in your textbooks, most likely (I’ve never seen a Japanese textbook that teaches other dialects). But even today, locals of a village, in say, upper Hokkaido might not even be understood by a native Japanese speaker from, say, Osaka.
But yabai, they’ll more than likely understand.
Exercise caution when using yabai with older folks. But to be fair, it might impress a few.
Yabai is an I-Adjective, so you can use it just like I’ve shown you how before. Only this time, let’s translate.
Vocab:
- それ Sore = that (opposite side of speaker)
- これ Kore = this (in front of speaker)
- あの Ano = That (followed by noun)
- 映画 Eiga = movie
| Yabai | examples | from | above | EXPLAINED: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| それやばい! | えっ、これやばいんだけど！ | やべーな！ | やばいね！ | あの映画やばかったけど！ |
| Sore yabai! | Eh, Kore YABAI n dakedo! | YabbEE na!” | Yabai ne! | Ano eiga yabakatta kedo! |
| That’s crazy! | Bro, that’s intense!” (like crazy) | OMG!” (masculine) | OMG! | That movie was crazy!” (could have negative implications) |