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- な-adjectives are one of two kinds of adjectives in Japanese (the other being い-adjectives). The main function of な-adjectives is to describe nouns. For example, a famous person is 有名な 人, a convenient tool is 便利な ツール, and a safe place is 安全な 場所. な-adjectives earn their name from な, which is used to attach a な-adjective to a noun.
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May 6, 2016 · な at the end of a sentence usually gives the sentence one of the following five meanings. 1. Seeking confirmation. This usage is probably the most common. The addition of な to the end of a sentence gives the sentence the tone that the speaker is seeking confirmation.
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Apr 16, 2020 · な: The Adjective Side of the Spectrum. の: The Noun Side of the Spectrum. な or の: The Middle of the Spectrum. 〜な気分 For When You’re in a Mood. For Cravings. For Self Expression. For Places and Activities. 終わりな気分. Prerequisites: This article assumes you already know hiragana and katakana.
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- Table of Contents
- The Basics
- The Position of な-Adjectives in A Sentence
- Beyond The Basics
- Common Mistakes
な-adjectives are one of two kinds of adjectives in Japanese (the other being い-adjectives). The main function of な-adjectives is to describe nouns. For example, a famous person is 有名な人, a convenient tool is 便利なツール, and a safe place is 安全な場所. な-adjectives earn their name from な, which is used to attach a な-adjective to a noun. Unlike い-adjectives, な...
Just like い-adjectives, な-adjectives can be used in two positions to describe a noun: at the end of a sentence, and right before a noun. な-adjectives can do a little more than い-adjectives though. Some な-adjectives can function like a noun, and serve as the subject or object of a sentence.
The Origin of な-adjectives
Modern な-adjectives in Japanese have several different origins. The earliest な-adjectives originated in Japan. These are usually recognizable by the fact that have a hiragana ending, such as 〜か or 〜やか, as in 静か (quiet) and 賑やか (lively). As contact with China increased throughout Japanese history, many new descriptive words were imported into Japanese as な-adjectives. な-adjectives of Chinese origin make up about two-thirds of all な-adjectives. They’re generally quite easy to recognize, because...
The Historical Development of な
So the question remains: why do な-adjectives take な before a noun? In Old Japanese, にあり was used to show an adjective-like relationship between two words. The adjective-like word came first, and then connected to the noun it describes using にあり. You might recognize the two parts of this phrase, the particle に, and あり — the stem form of the verb ある. Slowly, over many years, the way にあり was pronounced shifted and simplified, first becoming なる, and then eventually, becoming な, which is still in...
What are の-adjectives?
In addition to い-adjectives and な-adjectives, some dictionaries and resources list a third kind of Japanese adjective: the の-adjective. If you’ve learned about particle の, you might know that it is used to describe the relationship between two nouns. This can be possession, as in お母さんの誕生日 (my mother’s birthday), or it can express identity, as in トヨタの山田さん (Mr. Yamada of Toyota). So in a phrase like 本当の幸せ (true happiness), why does の come after “true”, which is seemingly an adjective? It comes...
同じ
This is a small note, but beware of 同じ (same)! It feels like it should be a な-adjective, but it doesn't function quite like others. When used at the end of a sentence, it’s no different than any other な-adjective: 1. その靴は僕のと同じだ。 2. Those shoes are the same as mine! When you use 同じ immediately before a noun though, な is not used: 1. わざと僕と同じ靴を買ったの？ 2. Did you buy the same shoes as me on purpose? Ok, so easy enough to remember that 同じ doesn’t take な before a noun, but… 1. 靴が同じなのに、僕の方が似合ってるよ。 2....
Treating な-adjectives like い-adjectives
Some な-adjectives are easy to mistake for い-adjectives. For example, きれい (clean) is a な-adjective. However, it ends in い, so you could be forgiven for thinking it's an い-adjective, and try to mark it as past tense with 〜かった or negative with 〜くない. Just remember — な-adjectives use words like だった and じゃないto accomplish this! 1. ❌ 鳥にフンを落とされる前、車はきれかった。 ⭕鳥にフンを落とされる前、車はきれいだった。 2. The car was clean before a bird pooped on it. 1. ❌ 私の部屋はきれくない。 ⭕ 私の部屋はきれいじゃない。 2. My room is not clean. If you’re not sure...
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Aug 27, 2021 · How to tell Na-Adjective from I-Adjective. 1. Two main types of adjectives. In this post, we will introduce the two main types of adjectives in Japanese and explain how to tell which adjective is which type. If you need just a quick review, please scroll down to the Summary Table with a blue title in Section 8.
Dec 21, 2021 · Learn all the basic Japanese adjectives, ranging from na (な) to i (い) adjectives. Ready to express your thoughts with these common Japanese vocabularies?
Apr 12, 2020 · The - na adjectives pretty much act as nouns. However, instead of modifying another noun with a の (see the right for an example of a noun modifying another) - na adjectives modify a noun with a な na.
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