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Questions tagged [na-adjectives]

形容動詞. A specialized class of nouns of that can be attached to other nouns (using the special copula form な for present-positive), to describe their properties.

A specialized class of nouns of that can be attached to other nouns (using the special copula form な for present-positive), to describe their properties. In copular sentences (equivalent to the English "NOUN is ADJ") na-adjectives behave exactly like regular nouns.

Related tags

  • is separate class of word that are also used to describe properties of nouns, but behave more like verbs.
  • is sometimes used to refer to both na-adjectives and i-adjectives together. These two class are utterly unrelated in Japanese, but they both translate to English adjectives, which makes it necessary for learners to treat them together.
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Why does Japanese have two kinds of adjectives? (-i adjectives and -na adjectives)

Japanese has two kinds of adjectives known by several terms but the ones I know are i-adjectives and na-adjectives - why? I recall that Japanese adjectives are much more like verbs than in English and most European languages (where they are more…
hippietrail
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全然 {ぜんぜん} with positive adjective / na-adjective

In Japanese classes, I was taught that 全然 can only be used with negative-meaning words/phrases/clauses, for example: 全然出来ません 全然だめです However, I've observed that, especially in spoken Japanese, some positive na-adjectives are allowed to follow 全然…
Lukman
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When would you use 新{あら}たな and 新{あたら}しい

To say new, the first way that I learned is to use the i-adjective 新しい. But I noticed that the na-adjective 新たな is used a lot in written texts. Is there any difference in when either is used?
Nap
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Is there an order of adjectives in Japanese?

In English, if we have multiple adjectives modifying a noun, there is a preferred order for those adjectives, for example: nice long red car *nice red long car *long red nice car I was wondering if there are similar restrictions in Japanese. For…
Lou
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why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it?

why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it? Examples: の only: 普通、大勢 な or の: 初心、特別、特殊 Is there a way for us to tell if a 形容動詞 needs a の or な particle after it.. or is it just by brute force memory? Btw my second…
Pacerier
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What's the difference between 静けさ and 静かさ?

Much to my disbelief (no, I'm kidding, it happens all the time), I found out that my handbook was wrong to tell me we must use 静けさ, because 静かさ doesn't exist. Wiki(tionary) says "For degree, corresponding to the English quietness, both 静かさ…
Kokoroatari
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How do you say "You have gotten better at X"?

I was just reminded on another site that "being good at something" is expressed as [上手]{じょうず}/[上手]{うま}い, not いい. How do you tell someone they "have gotten better at something"? Xさん, 料理することがもっと上手いですね。 would be my thought. Is that right? Would that be…
dotnetN00b
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Unifying concept for noun-adjectives of the pattern Xかな

Consider these: ～か： 静か 愚か 厳か ～やか: 穏やか 鮮やか 賑やか ～らか: 柔らか 滑らか 明らか There are many more that I've not listed. The か/やか/らか at the end of these words seem to suggest that they stem from a common grammar construct. What is it? And…
Flaw
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-的 adjectives modifying nouns without な

Am I correct in thinking that these are ok without a na: 1) 印象的な事実 2) 印象的事実 3) 客観的な事実 4) 客観的事実 But these need a na?: 5) 明らかな事実 6) ＊?明らか事実 7) 簡単な事実 8) ＊?簡単事実 (From a quick look, Google results count seems to support this). According…
melissa_boiko
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Why are we allowed to use を particle with na-adjectives?

Can someone explain the usage of a na-adjective with the を particle? I cannot understand why we can say ほうれん草を嫌いな人もいる。 because I'd thought that it had to be a が or の particle instead of an を. Also, why can we say きみがなぜジャズを嫌いか私にはわからない。 Shouldn't…
Pacerier
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Is there a pattern to the usage of 〜的 on the end of words?

Sometimes I think it's more obvious when to use 〜的 as a suffix for example 国家 "nation/state" vs 国家的 "national", but in a lot of other cases I think the distinction might be more blurred, and they frequently translate to the same word in English.…
cypher
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Is there a difference between 最高の and 最高な?

A dictionary lists 最高 as being both a no-adjective and na-adjective. I've also seen other examples of this. However, is there a difference between using it either form since they're both attached to nouns?
Noktis
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If a compound noun is made from a na-adjective suffix, is it followed by a な particle?

There are a few compound nouns that are made by compounding something with na-adjectives like 好き and 嫌い, for examples: 花見好き 子供好き 水嫌い 人嫌い 負け嫌い Are these compounds followed by a な particle? Or do they lose the na-adjective status and become 名詞 nouns…
Lukman
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Can「病気【びょうき】」be used as a 形容動詞【けいようどうし】 (na-adjective)?

I came across this multiple choice question as part of my homework. There is only one correct choice. Question 心配【しんぱい】しないで。悪【わる】い病気【びょうき】 { ______ } と思【おも】います Don't worry. I think { ______ } a bad illness/disease. Answers ①　かもしれない it might…
jarmanso7
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What is the difference between 「いろいろ」and 「さまざま」?

According to the dictionary, they both mean "various". What is the difference between both words?
jarmanso7
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