What does this mean?
- Thread starter StorDuff
- Start date
"What is the difference between chiisai and chiisana?"
there are two types of adjectives, i-adjectives and na-adjectives.
-na is added to na-adjectives when a noun comes after it, as in
"chiisana uchi."
(If I remember correctly, chiisai is one of those weird adjectives that can appear as either a -na or an -i adjective... so in this particular case "chiisai uchi" could also be possible.)
Let me give you some examples of usage of the different kinds of adjectives:
i-adjective:
kono ie wa furui desu - this house is old
kono furui ie - this old house
as you see, i-adjectives do not change.
na-adjective:
kono ie wa suteki desu - this house is beautiful
kono suteki na ie - this beautiful house
you simply have to memorize which adjectives are -na and which are -i to be able to use them correctly, but there are some things that can help you.
for instance, -na adjectives are adjectives of foreign origin (most of them derive from Chinese, but these days there are some from English too.) words of Chinese origin typically look different from Japanese ones, which you'll start to notice as you learn more of the language. -i adjectives, not surprisingly, always end in -i in their plain form (hageshii - violent, ureshii - happy etc.)
and -i adjectives are of course native Japanese words.
(by the way, "uchi" refers to one's home or someone else's home, the word "ie" which also means house is used in other contexts.)
moyashi said: "na makes an adjective into a noun."
no, but nouns can be made into adjectives by adding "teki na" to them.
some words of this kind are common like "ippantekina" meaning "general.)"
I know my reply is overly elaborate, i hope you don't mind
I just noticed this thread is several months old, but might as well post my message since i took the time to write it... phew!
-Eirik
there are two types of adjectives, i-adjectives and na-adjectives.
-na is added to na-adjectives when a noun comes after it, as in
"chiisana uchi."
(If I remember correctly, chiisai is one of those weird adjectives that can appear as either a -na or an -i adjective... so in this particular case "chiisai uchi" could also be possible.)
Let me give you some examples of usage of the different kinds of adjectives:
i-adjective:
kono ie wa furui desu - this house is old
kono furui ie - this old house
as you see, i-adjectives do not change.
na-adjective:
kono ie wa suteki desu - this house is beautiful
kono suteki na ie - this beautiful house
you simply have to memorize which adjectives are -na and which are -i to be able to use them correctly, but there are some things that can help you.
for instance, -na adjectives are adjectives of foreign origin (most of them derive from Chinese, but these days there are some from English too.) words of Chinese origin typically look different from Japanese ones, which you'll start to notice as you learn more of the language. -i adjectives, not surprisingly, always end in -i in their plain form (hageshii - violent, ureshii - happy etc.)
and -i adjectives are of course native Japanese words.
(by the way, "uchi" refers to one's home or someone else's home, the word "ie" which also means house is used in other contexts.)
moyashi said: "na makes an adjective into a noun."
no, but nouns can be made into adjectives by adding "teki na" to them.
some words of this kind are common like "ippantekina" meaning "general.)"
I know my reply is overly elaborate, i hope you don't mind
I just noticed this thread is several months old, but might as well post my message since i took the time to write it... phew!
-Eirik
- Thread starter
- #9
Originally posted by Eirik
"What is the difference between chiisai and chiisana?"
there are two types of adjectives, i-adjectives and na-adjectives.
-na is added to na-adjectives when a noun comes after it, as in
"chiisana uchi."
(If I remember correctly, chiisai is one of those weird adjectives that can appear as either a -na or an -i adjective... so in this particular case "chiisai uchi" could also be possible.)
Let me give you some examples of usage of the different kinds of adjectives:
i-adjective:
kono ie wa furui desu - this house is old
kono furui ie - this old house
as you see, i-adjectives do not change.
na-adjective:
kono ie wa suteki desu - this house is beautiful
kono suteki na ie - this beautiful house
you simply have to memorize which adjectives are -na and which are -i to be able to use them correctly, but there are some things that can help you.
for instance, -na adjectives are adjectives of foreign origin (most of them derive from Chinese, but these days there are some from English too.) words of Chinese origin typically look different from Japanese ones, which you'll start to notice as you learn more of the language. -i adjectives, not surprisingly, always end in -i in their plain form (hageshii - violent, ureshii - happy etc.)
and -i adjectives are of course native Japanese words.
(by the way, "uchi" refers to one's home or someone else's home, the word "ie" which also means house is used in other contexts.)
moyashi said: "na makes an adjective into a noun."
no, but nouns can be made into adjectives by adding "teki na" to them.
some words of this kind are common like "ippantekina" meaning "general.)"
I know my reply is overly elaborate, i hope you don't mind
I just noticed this thread is several months old, but might as well post my message since i took the time to write it... phew!
-Eirik
Elaborate is good..I'll have to read over that a few times to fully understand it.
This thread is only a few days old..perhaps the dates are wrong?
interesting. I have an idea of why words like "kirei" and "suteki" can be used as -i adjectives in addition to -na. Their kanji has on readings; meaning they derive from Chinese as far as I know, and therefore are -na adjectives. but they end in -i so it could be easy to think they are -i adjectives because of their semblance.
"ookii" and "chiisai" however have kun readings, so that theory doesn't explain these.
maybe this sounds awfully boring, but i find it interesting
-Eirik
"ookii" and "chiisai" however have kun readings, so that theory doesn't explain these.
maybe this sounds awfully boring, but i find it interesting
-Eirik
cacawate
観察するのが好きです
- 22 Jul 2003
- 549
- 28
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Kirei and suteki cannot be used as i-adj. Kirei is an exception to the "i na" rule as it DOES end with an i but is still considered a na-adj. Suteki should be obvious because you cannot conjugate it into an adv. using the -ku rule
i.e.
○ ookii = big
○ ookiku = largely
○ kirei na = pretty
X kireku = doesn't exist
kirei would then turn into:
○ kirei ni = prettily
-Jeff
i.e.
○ ookii = big
○ ookiku = largely
○ kirei na = pretty
X kireku = doesn't exist
kirei would then turn into:
○ kirei ni = prettily
-Jeff
Glenn
一切皆苦
- 8 Jan 2004
- 7,684
- 200
- 128
cacawate said:
Well, "kirei" only appears to be an exception when you look at it in romaji, but it does have kanji (綺麗) and, as you can see, there are no okurigana. That's why I was taught that the -i adjectives are those that end in -ai, -ii, -ui, and -oi.
Just to add (and maybe confuse, sorry if that's the case) "kireku" may exist in some dialects (I haven't confirmed, but remember my Japanese teacher saying that). It's always hard to say that something doesn't exist in Japanese due to the wide variety of dialects. For example, "jouzu" is a "na" adjective, but in some dialects it can be inflected "jouzuku" in the adverbial form, as opposed to the standard "jouzu ni." Whenever I explain Japanese grammar to people, I like to work on the assumption that we are talking about Standard Japanese, although that isn't always the case. But every now and then I like to throw in that disclaimer, just in case someone from Akita or wherever comes along and says "we do say X." So anyway, "kireku" doesn't exist in Standard Japanese. If you ever do see it, assume that it is a dialect.
