Sixteen common な-adjectives
Shown without な, the way you find them in a dictionary.
Present, negative and past
The adjective itself never changes. Its forms are exactly those of です after a noun.
| Form | Meaning | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| shizuka desu | is quiet | 静かだ |
| shizuka ja nai desu | is not quiet | 静かじゃない |
| shizuka deshita | was quiet | 静かだった |
| shizuka ja nakatta desu | was not quiet | 静かじゃなかった |
な before a noun
Only before a noun do you add な. At the end of a sentence it disappears again.
Linking with で, adverbs with に
で: “… and …”
To join a な-adjective to another description, use で: 静かできれいな町 shizuka de kirei na machi, “a quiet, pretty town”.
に: adverbs
Add に to describe a verb: 静かに話してください shizuka ni hanashite kudasai, “please speak quietly”; 元気になる, “get well”.
きれい and 嫌い: な-adjectives in disguise
These end in い but are な-adjectives. Treating them as い-adjectives (きれくない) is a classic learner form; the correct forms keep the い and add じゃない.
Adjectives that take の
A small group of describing words behave like nouns and take の before a noun instead of な. Some can take either.
| Example | Meaning | Link |
|---|---|---|
| byōki no hito | a sick person | の |
| hontō no hanashi | a true story | の |
| futsū no hi | an ordinary day | の (な also used) |
| onaji fuku | the same clothes | nothing: 同じ joins directly |
| tokubetsu na hi | a special day | な (の also used) |
| iroiro na kuni | various countries | な |
〜そう and 〜すぎる with な-adjectives
Add そう or すぎる straight to the adjective, with no な. The result of そう is itself a な-adjective.
い or な? A side-by-side check
The same sentence pattern with one adjective of each kind. Watch where the past and the negative go.
| Form | い: 高い | な: 静か |
|---|---|---|
| before a noun | 高い店 たかいみせ | 静かな店 しずかなみせ |
| is | 高いです たかいです | 静かです しずかです |
| is not | 高くないです たかくないです | 静かじゃないです しずかじゃないです |
| was | 高かったです たかかったです | 静かでした しずかでした |
| and… | 高くて たかくて | 静かで しずかで |
| adverb | 高く たかく | 静かに しずかに |
Likes and skills in conversation
好き, 嫌い, 上手 and 下手 are the な-adjectives you will use most when talking about yourself.
Check yourself
Give the form shown, then open the answer.
- Before a noun静か + 町shizuka
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静かな町. - Negativeきれい → negativekirei
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きれいじゃない, not きれくない. - Past便利 → pastbenri
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便利でした / 便利だった. - Join them静か + きれいshizuka
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静かできれい. - Adverb静か → adverbshizuka
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静かに.
好き and 嫌い take が
The thing liked or disliked takes が, and the person who likes it takes は. Japanese literally says “as for me, cats are liked”.