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.
72
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1answer
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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?
1
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1answer
68 views
What's the difference between [noun] + の and [noun]+ な?
For example, suppose I want to say "It's a weird thing". Can I say "hen na koto desu.", and "hen no koto desu"? What is the difference?
｢変なことです｣ vs. ｢変のことです｣
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1answer
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Origin of こんな, そんな, あんな and どんな
I wondered why こんな, そんな, あんな and どんな can be used prenominally without any particles. Due to the lack of a proper etymology dictionary in my possession (a recommendation would be appreciated), I came ...
6
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1answer
125 views
好きだ or 好きな: which one to be used in the below mentioned sentence
Which one is correct?
私が好きだ日本の食べ物はてんぷらです。
Or
私が好きな日本の食べ物はてんぷらです。
I am not sure whether to use sukina or sukida
Please post your answer with explaination.
Thank you.
2
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1answer
95 views
こんな、そんな、あんな、どんな + na-adjectives
How do they interact with each other? I know that depending on the part of speech these words may have/have no particle after them, but what about na-adjectives? Do these pronouns have any particle in ...
4
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2answers
128 views
How to translate nominalised adjectives from Japanese to English (e.g. スイスがきれいなこと)
I am currently struggling with wrapping my head around こと and how it nominalises adjectives/sentences with adjectives to turn them into noun phrases.
With verbs, it's easy:
べんとうを食べる (I eat bento/...
4
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1answer
220 views
What is the difference between 適切、適当 and 適宜?
As the title says, I've been having some trouble with recognizing the difference between 適切、適当 and 適宜 as in dictionaries they are all translated to "appropriate, suitable".
According to this site
適当{...
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0answers
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な Adjectives - Only in present tense? [duplicate]
I've doubt about な.
I've to use it only when I'm talking in present tense?
Example:
１）きれいな人だ
２）きれいな人だった
The second one is valid?
Thanks in advance!
4
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1answer
180 views
Verb after な-adjective, is it necessary to complete the sentence?
I read somewhere that 形容動詞 are a special subclass of nouns. Contrarily 形容詞, the い adjectives, are actually a lot more similar to verbs. During the time that I have been learning Japanese language (...
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2answers
131 views
Using い and な adjectives
According to the book I am reading, "Sakura is beautiful" is written as
さくらはきれいです
and "Sakura is a beautiful flower" is
さくらはきれいなはなです
,but when using たかい the na form isn't used. For example:
...
5
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2answers
105 views
na-adjectives in different tenses. これは真面目だった人です。
I need some help with basic grammar.
What is the difference between these sentences:
これは真面目だった人です。
これは真面目な人でした。
これは真面目だった人でした。
Thank you in advance!
4
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2answers
234 views
past tense na adjective + noun
I have two sentences that im using to try to understand how na adjectives are conjugated in Japanese.
私の友達は綺麗な人 - My friend is a beautiful person
私の友達は綺麗だった人 - My friend was a beautiful person
In ...
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1answer
181 views
Why/when is である required for na-adjectives in grammar forms?
When shin kanzen master defines the connections for some grammar forms, it often notes that である must be used for na-adjectives.
For example, in the grammar point for ～にもかかわらず in shin kanzen master ...
2
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2answers
322 views
Can every noun be a na-adjective?
I know that na-adjectives are nouns which can also act like adjectives by affixing themselves to nouns, but can every noun do this simply by adding な or can only certain nouns have the property of ...
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1answer
244 views
Why is くなかった wrong and ではありません preferred in this sentence?
I was taking a n5 grammar test and I came across the question:
あの人{ひと} は有名{ゆうめい} ＿＿＿＿
The answer I chose was くなかった. However, the quiz said the correct answer was ではありません. Why is that?
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1answer
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Can I use 素敵 to describe a wonderful person?
I want to say that a person is wonderful:
「素敵な人。」
Is there a more appropriate way to tell a person they are wonderful? This is my entire sentence:
「あなたは素敵な人です。」
I want to use the term to say ...
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1answer
98 views
Do we really have to change particles (usually が into は) in negative and interrogative sentences?
Which alternatives sounds more natural?
1.1 - その本は読めない。
1.2 - その本が読めない。
2.1 - ゴルフは上手じゃない。
2.2 - ゴルフが上手じゃない
3.1 - この映画は見たくない。
3.2 - この映画が見たくない。
3.3 - この映画を見たくない。
4.1 - 日本語は分からない。
4.2 - 日本語が分からない。
...
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1answer
152 views
How to say something is [a colour] AND [another adjective] using て form 'and'?
Do all colours work as な adjectives or い adjectives when using て form 'and'? In a sentence such as "my phone is white and small", would it be 私のけいたいは白いで小さいです。OR ～けいたいはしろくて～?
Also, if the colour were ...
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1answer
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0answers
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Can you omit the な between な-adjectives and nouns? [duplicate]
書く時には書くスタイルに合った書き言葉的表現、そして、話す時には話すスタイルに合った話し言葉的表現があることを覚えておいてください。
The above quote is from the second chapter of Tobira. My question concerns 書き言葉的表現 and 話し言葉的表現. The book states that (書き/話し)言葉的 is a ...
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2answers
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Modifying fixed expressions such as 「駄々をこねる」 adjectivally and adverbially
I came across the following sentence:
子供みたいな駄々をこねる
It felt a bit weird (possibly because I'm not very familiar with either 「駄々」 or 「こねる」 and think of the expression as a big verb) and made me ...
7
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1answer
127 views
What quality would 勝手 describe in these contexts?
I looked it up in online dictionaries and they didn't really prove useful. "Selfish" or "convenience" doesn't seem to fit.
So this is a quote from Niji-iro Tohgarashi
勝手な奴だ。
This is the sentence ...
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4answers
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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 ...
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1answer
339 views
Why does 嫌い looks so much like an i adjective, when it is a na adjective?
I tried to look for this answer but could not find it so...
Why is that 嫌い looks so much like an i-adjective? I might be wrong, but most i-adjectives seem follow this path:
Kanji + い or Kanji + ...
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1answer
2k views
When should I use な in “na-adjectives”?
I'm trying to understand something here, I have the following question I need to answer:
あなたの部屋はきれいですか？
to which I should answer something like
ええ、きれいなです。
Why is the question does not contain ...
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3answers
360 views
Difference between 必死で走る and 必死に走る
I understand that in these expressions the に isn't a particle (I think it indicates the adverbial form of a na-adjective) but I'm not sure what で is:
必死に走る
run like crazy
必死で走る
run like hell
...
3
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1answer
158 views
かたくな etymology and relation to 固い
The words 頑な{かたくな} (na-adjective, "stubborn") and 固い{かたい} (i-adjective, "hard" or "stubborn") sound similar and have a similar meaning. I was thinking if these words are related to each other through ...
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2answers
415 views
いろいろな便利な - In some case, two na-adjectives linked not using で?
With my japanese teacher, we study some text about doraemon.
One of sentences was:
「未来{みらい}のいろいろな便利{べんり}な「ひみつ道具{どうぐ}」をポケットの中に持っている」
I was thinking いろいろな便利{べんり}な had to be いろいろで便利{べんり}な. My teacher ...
5
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1answer
169 views
Where does the な used in な-adjectives come from?
な-adjectives are derived from nouns. This is similar to how の can be used to 'Adjective-ize' a noun. But while it's clear how の-adjectives work, and why the の is appended, what is the story for な-...
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2answers
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is suki an adjective and a verb?
I thought that "suki" was a verb which meant "to like". It is hard to me to make sense why it seems to be always used with "desu".
Now in a webpage I read that suki is an adjective, which means ...
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1answer
145 views
When a word is both a な and の adjective?
I've recently encountered words like 「いろいろ」which apparently counts as both a な and a の adjective.
Just curious if there's some difference in meaning when one is used instead of the other.
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1answer
240 views
Is 遥か a special kind of adjective?
According to the dictionary, it's supposed to be a na-adjective, but it seems to be used somewhat commonly without the な particle, e.g.
遥か彼方
遥か氷原の彼方
遥か群衆を離れて
I think I've seen a few more variations ...
2
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1answer
180 views
Grammar of nounの多さに
品揃えの多さについつい買いこんでしまい、...
I ended up unintentionally buying ??? complete set...
I'm struggling to understand the part in bold. I know that 多い is 'many', and that you can convert adjectives to nouns ...
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4answers
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Differences between 類似 and ような
Is there any difference to how and when 類似 and ような are used? For example:
英国で同じようなことです。
英国で類似のことです。
Thanks.
3
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1answer
1k views
na-adjective + に particle?
Why is a に particle following a na-adjective in the following sentence? I know that the particle has several uses, e.g. direction and location of existence, but I don't know the reason why it is being ...
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1answer
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NA particle meaning?
What does the NA mean in this sentence?
Sonna baka NA koto...
そんなバカなことは、普通に言わないよ
Normally, (you) don't say such a stupid thing
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2answers
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i-adjective + na-adjective + noun
How do I use an i-adjective and na-adjective together to describe a noun? For example, how do I say "beautiful, red torii"?
綺麗な鳥居 (na-adjective): beautiful torii
赤い鳥居 (i-adjective): red torii
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1answer
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What does モンロス mean?
It seems to be used as a na-adjective, but I couldn't find the meaning anywhere.
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2answers
3k views
Turning a verb phrase into an adjective
I'm trying to translate a song and I came across the following part:
消えてしまいそうな僕は
消える means "to disappear" so 消えてしまい could mean "to disappear accidentally" or, more likely given the context, "to ...
4
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1answer
267 views
Na-adjectives before は
Do na-adjectives need a な before a は?
もっと きれいなは どうですか。
もっと きれいは どうですか。
Which is correct?
Personally I think な is needed as the sentence is a shorter form of もっと きれいな ハンドバッグは どうですか。(replace ...
3
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1answer
170 views
Na-adjective in attributive form before という?
I have trouble with the last part of the following sentence, starting from the last 私 (bolded):
その読まれる作品は、たいてい私のものと、川添と云う少女のもので、私の作品が、たいていは家庭のことを書いているのに反して、川添と云う少女のは、森の梟{ふくろう}とか幻想の虹{にじ}...
3
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1answer
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Modifying 形容動詞 (ナ adjectives) with verb phrases
In my textbook, the following phrase:
子どもたちが話しているにぎやかな声
is derived from the following example sentence:
にぎやかな声で子どもたちが話している。
It is the phrase that confuses me. It appears to me that the section ...
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2answers
3k views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
Is there any difference for using 連用形 vs 連体形 when listing 形容動詞 to modify a 名詞?
E.g.
危険な投機的な事業
危険で投機的な事業
Are they both grammatical and mean the exact same thing?
3
votes
1answer
127 views
A Question About the Suffix さ
While studying yesterday, I came across two words with the suffix さ:
無邪気さ(translated as innocence) and 寛大さ (translated as generosity).
1) What's the difference between these words and the words ...
5
votes
1answer
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Connecting adjectives in a sentence
If I were to say "Mr. Li is cheerful, healthy, and interesting." It would be リさんはあかるくて、げんきで、おもしろいです。
What I don't understand is how to connect negative adjectives, like if I want to say "Mr. Li is ...
2
votes
1answer
157 views
What is wrong with my translation?
Take the following sentence.
人は魚が好きだ.
I thought this meant "Person is likable fish" (I'm new at this)
I was told it meant "People like fish"
Why?
3
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3answers
237 views
Usage of an adjective 細やか（な）
I have met the sentence:
各学生への細やかな配慮と個人的な学術的な指導があるため。
The word 細やかな is translated in the dictionary usually as friendly or tender.
1) Could you please tell me more exact translation of this word ...
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2answers
1k views
-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, ...
