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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?

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新しい is a famous example of metathesis. Originally, it was [新]{あら}たし. Over the time, the positions of ら and た have switched, and the new form [新]{あたら}し was created, which evolved into today's standard form 新しい, and today, the old form is preserved only as the na-adjective 新た. Na-adjectives are often used to incorporate Chinese words, and those words generally have a formal impression as opposed to i-adjectives, which are well familiarized words. 新た is no exception. It is used in formal contexts or when you want to have some literary effect.

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  • According to this dictionary, あたらしい comes from the early Heian period. That's quite early for a "new" form!
    – Zhen Lin
    Feb 22, 2012 at 7:45
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    @ZhenLin I've always found it peculiar that 新しい ends in しい, which is usually for "subjective" adjectives. "New" seems pretty objective, and 古い doesn't end in しい. Not sure if this is related to the question in any way, though.
    – dainichi
    Feb 22, 2012 at 8:11
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    Hypothesis: The existing and superficially (phonemically) nearby らし ending exerted gravitational pull on あらた, resulting in both metathesis and a semantically atypical らしい adjective.
    – Matt
    Feb 22, 2012 at 23:21
  • @Matt So in other words, you mean it is due to folk etymology? That is quite convincing.
    – user458
    Feb 22, 2012 at 23:31
  • @sawa I suppose in a way, but I don't think it was a conscious reanalysis, more of a change driven by the tendency to align words with existing patterns (e.g. there was another /atarasi/, too, often written 可惜し, which I think was etymologically distinct and may also have served as a "model" inspiring 新し.)
    – Matt
    Feb 23, 2012 at 0:10
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新たな sounds more literary, as already pointed out. In addition, the usage of 新た is limited.

新た is only used to describe something is created/started from scratch. When something is compared by age or freshness, 新しい is the only choice.

In addition, in modern Japanese 新た only works as a modifier (新たな is an attributive - "brand-new", 新たに is an adverbial - "from scratch"), and cannot form the predicate 新ただ.

Consider the following example:

  • [correct usage] こちらの本の方が新しいです。
  • [incorrect usage] もっと新たな本を読みたいです。
  • [incorrect usage] こちらの本の方が新たです。
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