Читать книгу Complete Japanese Adjective Guide - Ann Tarumoto - Страница 8
ОглавлениеPart I
Adjectives
1. Adjectives
An adjective is a describing word. To qualify as an adjective in Japanese, a word must end in one of the following sounds: ai, oi, ui, ii. In Japanese, a word that does not end in one of these sounds is not an adjective and therefore cannot be treated as an adjective, even if it is a describing word.
Memorize this list of adjectives for the exercises to follow.
| ii (inflected from yoi) | good |
| warui | bad |
| takai | expensive, high, tall (in position) |
| yasui | inexpensive |
| chikai | near |
| tooi | far |
| atsui | hot |
| samui | cold (weather only) |
| oishii | delicious, tasty |
| mazui | bad-tasting |
| ookii | large, big |
| chiisai | small, little |
| muzukashii | difficult |
| yasashii | easy, nice (people) |
| suzushii | cool (weather) |
| atatakai (attakai) | warm (weather, clothing, people) |
| atsui | hot (objects, weather) |
| tsumetai | cold (objects, personalities) |
| furui | old (not for people) |
| atarashii | new (objects, people) |
| hayai | early, fast |
| osoi | late, slow |
| amai | sweet (tasting) |
| karai | salty, spicy |
| omoshiroi | interesting |
| tanoshii | fun |
| isogashii | busy |
Write the antonym of each adjective:
| 1. | samui _____________________ |
| 2. | tsumetai _____________________ |
| 3. | furui _____________________ |
| 4. | hayai _____________________ |
| 5. | chiisai _____________________ |
| 6. | ii _____________________ |
| 7. | yasui _____________________ |
| 8. | tooi _____________________ |
| 9. | atsui _____________________ |
| 10. | osoi _____________________ |
| 11. | yasashii _____________________ |
| 12. | mazui _____________________ |
| 13. | takai _____________________ |
| 14. | ookii _____________________ |
| 15. | atarashii _____________________ |
| 16. | warui _____________________ |
| 17. | chikai _____________________ |
| 18. | muzukashii _____________________ |
| 19. | oishii _____________________ |
| 20. | amai _____________________ |
What would be an appropriate adjective to describe the following?
| 1. | a two-karat diamond ______________________ |
| 2. | a school 50 miles from your house ______________________ |
| 3. | an office worker with no time for lunch ______________________ |
| 4. | a calculus problem ______________________ |
| 5. | a meal at the best restaurant ______________________ |
| 6. | a perfect grade on an exam ______________________ |
| 7. | a day at an amusement park ______________________ |
| 8. | an elephant ______________________ |
| 9. | a month-old loaf of bread ______________________ |
| 10. | a jalapeno pepper ______________________ |
| 11. | a train that travels 75 mph ______________________ |
| 12. | a mouse ______________________ |
2. Adjectives Modifying Nouns
In Japanese, as in English, an adjective often modifies or describes a noun. Like English, when an adjective modifies a noun, it precedes the noun directly, without an intervening particle.
Example: omoshiroi hon = an interesting book
Describe the word kuruma (car) with the adjective indicated.
| 1. | ________kuruma |
| old | |
| 2. | ________kuruma |
| expensive | |
| 3. | ________kuruma |
| big |
Try expressing the following phrases. Look up the nouns you don’t know in the glossary:
| 1. | an inexpensive car =_________________________________________ |
| 2. | a new TV =_________________________________________ |
| 3. | an interesting movie =_________________________________________ |
| 4. | hot coffee =_________________________________________ |
| 5. | a cold drink =_________________________________________ |
| 6. | a warm day =_________________________________________ |
| 7. | fresh vegetables =_________________________________________ |
| 8. | an old radio =_________________________________________ |
| 9. | a busy day =_________________________________________ |
| 10. | a cold person =_________________________________________ |
| 11. | a large dog =_________________________________________ |
| 12. | a small cat =_________________________________________ |
| 13. | a faraway place =_________________________________________ |
| 14. | an expensive sweater =_________________________________________ |
| 15. | a good book =_________________________________________ |
By adding desu or one of its forms after the noun you can make a simple sentence. The forms of desu are:
| desu (present) | ja arimasen (present negative) | ||
| deshita (past) | ja arimasen deshita (past negative) | ||
| Example: | Ii hon desu ka? | = | Is it a good book? |
| Ii hon ja arimasen deshita. | = | It wasn’t a good book. |
Try these in Japanese:
| 1. | It was an interesting movie._________________________________________ |
| 2. | It isn’t delicious sushi._________________________________________ |
| 3. | It was hot coffee._________________________________________ |
| 4. | Is it a good book?_________________________________________ |
| 5. | It wasn’t a new TV._________________________________________ |
| 6. | It was a good school._________________________________________ |
| 7. | It’s a restaurant that is nearby._________________________________________ |
| 8. | It wasn’t a big cat._________________________________________ |
| 9. | It isn’t a small dog._________________________________________ |
| 10. | It was a difficult problem._________________________________________ |
| 11. | It’s not a large post office._________________________________________ |
| 12. | It’s not an expensive department store._________________________________________ |
3. When Adjectives are Used in the Predicate
The adjectives listed in the beginning of this workbook are in what is known as their dictionary form. Adjectives in their dictionary form are complete sentences. The addition of desu to the end of an adjective will make the sentence more polite. However, it will not change the meaning of the sentence, and it will not make the sentence more grammatically correct.
The following sentences are in what could be called the non-past tense. This means that the tense Of the sentence can be either present or future but not the past. Therefore:
Rajio ga ii. / Rajio ga ii desu. = The radio is good. / The radio will be good.
How would you say these sentences more politely?
| 1. | Sono rajio wa ii._________________________________________ |
| 2. | Ano biiru wa oishii._________________________________________ |
| 3. | Gakkoo wa chikai._________________________________________ |
| 4. | Kyoo wa isogashii._________________________________________ |
| 5. | Kono terebi wa ookii._________________________________________ |
| 6. | Ano sakana wa furui._________________________________________ |
| 7. | Ano sushi wa mazui._________________________________________ |
| 8. | Hikooki wa hayai._________________________________________ |
| 9. | Tempura wa yasui._________________________________________ |
| 10. | Sensei wa yasashii._________________________________________ |
Tell your teacher (politely) that:
| 1. | It is hot. _____________________ |
| 2. | You are busy. _____________________ |
| 3. | It is difficult. _____________________ |
| 4. | It is cool. _____________________ |
| 5. | Japanese is easy. _____________________ |
Tell a good friend (no need to be polite!) that:
| 1. | It is warm. _____________________ |
| 2. | The coffee is hot. _____________________ |
| 3. | The car is new. _____________________ |
| 4. | The restaurant is expensive. _____________________ |
| 5. | The vegetables are fresh. _____________________ |
Fill in the missing syllables in these adjectives:
| 1. | to__i |
| 2. | chii__I |
| 3. | __okii |
| 4. | ya__shii |
| 5. | ta__i |
| 6. | __zukashii |
| 7. | ya__i |
| 8. | ta__shii |
| 9. | a__i |
| 10. | i__gashii |
| 11. | chi__sai |
| 12. | fu__i |
| 13. | ata__kai |
| 14. | __tsui |
| 15. | a__rashii |
| 16. | __i |
| 17. | ka__i |
| 18. | __yai |
| 19. | ma__i |
| 20. | __ishii |
Adjectives in a Negative Predicate (Non-Past)
When you want to express a sentence such as, “The dog is not big,” the adjective in Japanese appears in the predicate of the sentence. It is also in its negative form. To inflect an adjective to its negative form in the non-past tense, drop the last i and add -ku arimasen.
Example: Samui desu. (It is cold.) > Samuku arimasen. (It is not cold.)
Samuku arimasen is the most formal way of expressing the idea, It is not cold.
The only exception to this rule is ii (good). Remember that ii is inflected from yoi. Therefore, ii desu means it is good while yoku arimasen means it is not good.
Inflect these adjectives to their formal, negative, non-past forms:
| 1. | atarashii desu _____________________ |
| 2. | ii desu _____________________ |
| 3. | isogashii desu _____________________ |
| 4. | furui desu _____________________ |
| 5. | hayai desu _____________________ |
| 6. | amai desu _____________________ |
| 7. | tanoshii desu _____________________ |
| 8. | omoshiroi desu _____________________ |
| 9. | takai desu _____________________ |
| 10. | yasui desu _____________________ |
| 11. | muzukashii desu _____________________ |
| 12. | ookii desu _____________________ |
| 13. | tooi desu _____________________ |
| 14. | warui desu _____________________ |
| 15. | mazui desu _____________________ |
Answer no to all these questions using the negative form of the adjective:
| 1. | Ano inu wa ookii desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 2. | Daigaku wa chikai desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 3. | Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 4. | Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 5. | Kuruma wa atarashii desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 6. | Ano sensei wa ii desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 7. | Sushi wa mazui desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 8. | Kyoo wa atsui desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 9. | Juusu wa tsumetai desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
| 10. | Karee raisu wa karai desu ka?Iie._____________________________________ |
Compose the following sentences using the negative, formal non-past form of the appropriate adjective. Keep in mind that subject pronouns such as I, you, he, she, it, and they need not be translated in Japanese. Although there is no word for the in Japanese, you may use the word sono where the appears.
| 1. | It is not hot. _____________________ |
| 2. | He is not busy. _____________________ |
| 3. | The coffee is not cold. _____________________ |
| 4. | The car is not new. _____________________ |
| 5. | The juice is not sweet. _____________________ |
| 6. | The tempura is not good. _____________________ |
| 7. | The magazine is not good. _____________________ |
| 8. | The vegetables are not fresh. _____________________ |
| 9. | The problem is not difficult. _____________________ |
| 10. | The school is not far. _____________________ |
| 11. | The dog is not large. _____________________ |
| 12. | The movie is not interesting. _____________________ |
Negative Adjectives in the Predicate: The Plain Form
We have been working with the formal forms of adjectives in the non-past. It is also possible to express the same ideas using the plain or informal, negative form of adjectives. This “friendly” way of speaking comes from replacing arimasen with nai.
Example: Samuku arimasen. > Samuku nai.
Both these sentences mean “It is not cold.” Samuku nai is merely a more friendly or direct way of expressing this idea.
Give the plain form of the following formal sentences and explain what they mean:
| 1. | Omoshiroku arimasen._________________________________________ |
| 2. | Kore wa atarashiku arimasen._________________________________________ |
| 3. | Kono zasshi wa waruku arimasen._________________________________________ |
| 4. | Kono koohii wa atsuku arimasen._________________________________________ |
| 5. | Ano kuruma wa furuku arimasen._________________________________________ |
Write the plain negative forms of the following sentences:
| 1. | Ano neko wa ookii._________________________________________ |
| 2. | Shiken wa muzukashii._________________________________________ |
| 3. | Uchi wa chiisai._________________________________________ |
| 4. | Kyoo wa suzushii._________________________________________ |
| 5. | Kono seetaa wa atatakai._________________________________________ |
| 6. | Fuyu wa samui._________________________________________ |
| 7. | Piza wa mazui._________________________________________ |
| 8. | Ano hon wa ii._________________________________________ |
| 9. | Nihon wa tooi._________________________________________ |
| 10. | Kyoo wa tanoshii._________________________________________ |
Compose these sentences using the plain negative form of the appropriate adjectives. Use sono for the.
| 1. | The soup is not hot._________________________________________ |
| 2. | The house is not big._________________________________________ |
| 3. | Today is not hot._________________________________________ |
| 4. | The magazine isn’t interesting._________________________________________ |
| 5. | The explanation isn’t difficult._________________________________________ |
| 6. | The teacher isn’t nice._________________________________________ |
| 7. | The dictionary isn’t good._________________________________________ |
| 8. | Today isn’t warm._________________________________________ |
| 9. | The TV isn’t new._________________________________________ |
| 10. | The station isn’t far._________________________________________ |
| 11. | Japan isn’t near._________________________________________ |
| 12. | The tickets are not expensive._________________________________________ |
Adjectives in the Predicate: The Past Affirmative
Adjectives in Japanese must be inflected to their past tense. You cannot simply take the non-past formal form samui desu and change desu to deshita. Adjectives are made past tense by dropping the last i and replacing it with -katta.
Example: samui > samukatta
Samukatta is the plain past tense. It means, It was cold. The addition of desu, as in samukatta desu, makes the sentence more formal, but does not alter the meaning in any way.
Remember that ii is always inflected from yoi.
Change these adjectives in the plain affirmative non-past to the plain affirmative past tense and give the English equivalent:
Example: warui > Warukatta. = It was bad.
| 1. | attakai >_________________________________________ |
| 2. | karai >_________________________________________ |
| 3. | tanoshii >_________________________________________ |
| 4. | ookii >_________________________________________ |
| 5. | muzukashii >_________________________________________ |
| 6. | takai >_________________________________________ |
| 7. | yasashii >_________________________________________ |
| 8. | amai >_________________________________________ |
| 9. | isogashii >_________________________________________ |
| 10. | suzushii >_________________________________________ |
Change these sentences to the formal past tense:
| 1. | Ano mondai wa yasashii desu._________________________________________ |
| 2. | Ano suupu wa atsui desu._________________________________________ |
| 3. | Kyoo wa suzushii desu._________________________________________ |
| 4. | Sensei wa ii desu._________________________________________ |
| 5. | Setsumei wa warui desu._________________________________________ |
| 6. | Nihon no jisho wa takai desu._________________________________________ |
| 7. | Piza wa mazui desu._________________________________________ |
| 8. | Seetaa wa atatakai desu._________________________________________ |
| 9. | Yuubinkyoku wa tooi desu._________________________________________ |
| 10. | Zasshi wa omoshiroi desu._________________________________________ |
Change these sentences as indicated by the word in parentheses:
Example: Kyoo wa atsui desu. (kinoo) > Kinoo wa atsukatta desu.
| 1. | Kinoo wa samukatta desu. (kyoo) _____________________ |
| 2. | Ashita wa isogashii desu. (ototoi) _____________________ |
| 3. | Kyoo wa samui desu. (kyonen) _____________________ |
| 4. | Kyoo no tempura wa oishii desu. (kinoo no tempura) _____________________ |
| 5. | Senshuu wa tanoshikatta desu. (ima) _____________________ |
How do you say these sentences in Japanese? Be sure to make the distinction between past and non-past sentences. Use sono to indicate the.
| 1. | The pizza was cold. _____________________ |
| 2. | The school is large. _____________________ |
| 3. | The books are inexpensive. _____________________ |
| 4. | The sweater was warm. _____________________ |
| 5. | Yesterday was fun. _____________________ |
| 6. | The soup is cold. _____________________ |
| 7. | Today was cool. _____________________ |
| 8. | The girl is small. _____________________ |
| 9. | The post office is far. _____________________ |
| 10. | The problems were difficult. _____________________ |
| 11. | Games are fun. _____________________ |
| 12. | The teacher was nice. _____________________ |
| 13. | The sushi was expensive. _____________________ |
| 14. | Saturday was hot. _____________________ |
| 15. | The explanation was good. _____________________ |
| 16. | The newspaper is old. _____________________ |
| 17. | The movie was interesting. _____________________ |
| 18. | The vegetables are fresh. _____________________ |
| 19. | Planes are fast. _____________________ |
| 20. | The TV was expensive. _____________________ |
Adjectives in the Predicate: The Past Negative
If you want to express the idea It was not cold in Japanese, you must change the adjective samui into its past negative form, Samuku arimasen deshita. This tense is formed by dropping the last i from the adjective and adding -ku arimasen deshita. The resulting past negative form is formal.
Change the following adjectives to their formal past negative forms and tell what they mean in English:
| 1. | tanoshii > _____________________ |
| 2. | oishii > _____________________ |
| 3. | atatakai > _____________________ |
| 4. | karai > _____________________ |
| 5. | ookii > _____________________ |
| 6. | muzukashii > _____________________ |
| 7. | tooi > _____________________ |
| 8. | ii > _____________________ |
| 9. | amai > _____________________ |
| 10. | suzushii > _____________________ |
What do these sentences mean in English?
1. Densha wa hayaku arimasen deshita.
_________________________________________
2. Ano konpyuuta wa yoku arimasen deshita.
_________________________________________
3. Kyoo wa suzushikatta desu.
_________________________________________
4. Sono rajio wa yasuku arimasen deshita.
_________________________________________
5. Amerika no zasshi wa omoshiroku arimasen.
_________________________________________
6. Sono sakana wa furukatta desu.
_________________________________________
7. Sono kudamono wa amaku arimasen deshita.
_________________________________________
8. Kono kuruma wa chiisaku arimasen.
_________________________________________
9. Ano niku wa atarashiku arimasen deshita.
_________________________________________
10. Kono kooto wa atatakaku arimasen.
_________________________________________
Now, try composing the following sentences using the formal past negative form of the appropriate adjective:
1. It wasn’t cold yesterday. _____________________
2. The tea wasn’t hot. _____________________
3. The water wasn’t cold. _____________________
4. I wasn’t busy. _____________________
5. The TV show wasn’t interesting. _____________________
6. The sushi wasn’t good. _____________________
7. The restaurant wasn’t expensive. _____________________
8. The train wasn’t late. _____________________
9. The newspapers weren’t old. _____________________
10. The house wasn’t large. _____________________
11. The weather wasn’t bad. _____________________
12. The explanation wasn’t difficult.
13. The school wasn’t nearby. _____________________
14. The cat wasn’t small. _____________________
15. The store wasn’t inexpensive. _____________________
16. The TV wasn’t big. _____________________
17. The room wasn’t cool. _____________________
18. The bus wasn’t early. _____________________
19. The pizza wasn’t bad tasting. _____________________
20. It wasn’t fun yesterday. _____________________
The Past Negative: Plain Form
As with the other forms we have studied so far, the negative past tense has a plain form as well as a formal form. The plain form may be obtained by replacing arimasen deshita with nakatta. Therefore, the equivalent plain form of samuku arimasen deshita (it is not cold) is samuku nakatta.
Change these formal sentences to a plain form and give the English equivalent:
1. Oishiku arimasen deshita. > ____________________
(Eng.)____________________________________
2. Ookiku arimasen deshita. > ____________________
_________________________________________
3. Inu wa chiisaku arimasen deshita. > ____________________
_________________________________________
4. Amerika no eiga wa omoshiroku arimasen deshita. > ________
_________________________________________
5. Tenki wa yoku arimasen deshita. >___________________
_________________________________________
6. Kono karee wa karaku arimasen deshita. >__________________
_________________________________________
7. Mondai wa muzukashiku arimasen deshita. >___________________
_________________________________________
8. Suupu wa atsuku arimasen deshita. > ____________________
_________________________________________
9. Kyoo wa suzushiku arimasen deshita. > __________________
_________________________________________
10. Yuubinkyoku wa tooku arimasen deshita. > ____________________
_________________________________________
11. Niku wa atarashiku arimasen deshita. > _________________
_________________________________________
12. Yasai wa yasuku arimasen deshita. > ____________________
_________________________________________
Try composing the following sentences using the plain form of the appropriate adjective:
1. The coffee wasn’t hot. _____________________
2. The newspaper wasn’t expensive.___________
3. The teacher wasn’t good. _____________________
4. Today wasn’t warm. _____________________
5. The dictionary wasn’t cheap. _____________________
6. The post office wasn’t far. _____________________
7. School wasn’t fun. _____________________
8. The bread wasn’t fresh. _____________________
9. The car wasn’t fast. _____________________
10. The Coke wasn’t cold. _____________________
11. The computer wasn’t old. _____________________
12. The weather wasn’t bad. _____________________
4. Zenzen, Tokidoki and Other Adverbs
Adjectives can be described by adverbs such as totemo, tokidoki and zenzen.
The following adverbs can only be used with an affirmative predicate (past & nonpast).
| Adverb | Meaning | |
| tokidoki | sometimes | |
| totemo | very, a lot | |
| itsumo | always | |
| kanari | quite | |
| chotto | a little | |
| The following adverbs can only be used with a negative predicate (past & non-past). | ||
| Adverb | Meaning | |
| zenzen | not at all, never, in no way | |
| amari, anmari | not very | |
| The following adverb can be used with either affirmative or negative predicates. | ||
| Adverb | Meaning | |
| taitei | usually | |
| Adverbs are usually placed directly before the adjectives they modify. | ||
| Example: | Totemo omoshiroi desu. = It is very interesting. Ano eiga wa anmari omoshiroku nai. = That movie is not very interesting. |
Don’t make the mistake in thinking that zenzen and amari with a negative predicate constitute a double negative. Those adverbs by themselves will not make a negative sentence. The sentence is not negative until the predicate is put in negative form.
Try this exercise. You may use either formal or plain forms of the adjective.
1. It is very interesting. _____________________
2. I’m not busy at all. _____________________
3. It doesn’t taste very good. _____________________
4. It’s always fun. _____________________
5. It’s not hot at all. _____________________
6. Sometimes it’s expensive. _____________________
7. It’s not difficult at all. _____________________
8. It’s usually cool. _____________________
9. It’s quite warm. _____________________
10. It wasn’t very early. _____________________
11. Sometimes they’re cheap. _____________________
12. I was very busy. _____________________
13. It’s not very easy. _____________________
14. It was quite far. _____________________
15. Sometimes it’s good. _____________________
16. It was quite bad. _____________________
17. It’s always good. _____________________
18. It’s not very old. _____________________
19. They’re quite new. _____________________
20. It’s not at all interesting. _____________________
21. It’s a little large. _____________________
22. It’s quite cold. _____________________
23. It was always expensive. _____________________
24. It was a little old. _____________________
25. I wasn’t busy at all. _____________________
There are many adverbs in Japanese other than the ones presented here. When you come across a new one, find out whether it can be used with only affirmative, only negative, or both types of sentences.
5. Other Adjectives
If you have completed all the exercises so far, you are probably an expert at changing adjectives to the negative present, the past tense and the negative past tense. The manner in which you have changed the adjectives listed so far in this workbook is the same for any adjective in Japanese. Following is a list of some other adjectives in Japanese. By following the rules you have mastered in the previous pages, you should be able to handle the exercises without any difficulty.
| abunai | = | dangerous |
| akai | = | red |
| aoi | = | blue |
| itai | = | painful |
| kawaii | = | cute (objects, people, animals) |
| kibishii | = | strict |
| kitanai | = | dirty |
| kowai | = | scary |
| kuroi | = | black |
| kuwashii | = | detailed |
| mazushii | = | poor (economic status) |
| mezurashii | = | unusual |
| mushiatsui | = | hot and humid |
| sabishii | = | lonely |
| shiroi | = | white |
| subarashii | = | fantastic |
| sugoi | = | awesome |
| tsuyoi | = | strong |
| ureshii | = | happy |
| urusai | = | noisy, annoying |
| utsukushii | = | beautiful |
| wakai | = | young |
Now, referring to the list above, see if you can figure out what the following sentences mean. Look up any new nouns in the glossary.
1. Watashi no Nihongo no sensei wa kibishii desu.
_________________________________________
2. Sugokatta!
_________________________________________
3. Kuruma wa akakatta desu.
_________________________________________
4. Tookyoo no natsu wa totemo mushiatsui desu.
_________________________________________
5. Haha wa wakaku arimasen.
_________________________________________
6. Setsumei wa zenzen kuwashiku nakatta.
_________________________________________
7. Ano inu wa kowaku arimasen.
_________________________________________
8. Kyoo no tenki wa subarashikatta desu.
_________________________________________
9. Heya wa anmari kitanaku nai.
_________________________________________
10. Atama wa itaku nakatta.
_________________________________________
11. Ano chiimu wa totemo tsuyoi desu.
_________________________________________
12. Kore wa mezurashii okashi desu ne.
_________________________________________
13. Sora wa aoi desu ka?
_________________________________________
14. Ano michi wa abunakatta.
_________________________________________
15. Kabe wa shiroku arimasen deshita.
_________________________________________
Answer no to these questions:
1. Kuruma wa kuroi desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
2. Kinoo wa mushiatsukatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
3. Nihon no o-cha wa mezurashii desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
4. Atama wa itakatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
5. Anata wa ima ureshii desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
Try making your own sentences using the following words. Use as many of the forms studied as possible.
Example: kyoo—samui Kyoo wa samuku arimasen.
1. neko—kawaii
_________________________________________
2. tenki—warui
_________________________________________
3. kuruma—abunai
_________________________________________
4. keshiki—subarashii
_________________________________________
5. toire—kitanai
_________________________________________
Try changing these adjectives as indicated by the English sentence. Use the formal form.
1. It was very dirty. _____________________
2. I’m not happy. _____________________
3. He was cute. _____________________
4. I wasn’t lonely. _____________________
5. It’s not dangerous. _____________________
6. It was red. _____________________
Do the same for the following, but use the plain form:
1. Awesome! _____________________
2. It’s not unusual. _____________________
3. It wasn’t blue. _____________________
4. It was quite detailed. _____________________
5. She isn’t strict at all. _____________________
6. The Goldilocks Level and the Negative
As you learned previously, it is possible to form both formal and informal levels in both the past and non-past tenses in Japanese. However, in both the negative past and the negative non-past, it is possible to create an intermediate level between the formal and informal levels. I like to call this the Goldilocks level as it is neither too formal nor too informal. For most occasions, it is just right. This level is only applicable for adjectives in their negative form.
The Goldilocks level is simply gotten by adding the word desu to the plain form of the negative adjective. This is done in both the past and non-past tenses. In this use, the word desu is never changed to deshita in the past.
| Example: | atsuku nai becomes atsuku nai desu. atsuku nakatta becomes atsuku nakatta desu. |
The meanings of atsuku nai, atsuku arimasen, atsuku nai desu are the same, i.e., it is not hot. The only difference is the level of formality.
Let’s work on the negative of the non-past. Give the levels indicated for each adjective:
| Example: | tooi | |
| Formal | Tooku arimasen. | |
| Plain | Tooku nai. | |
| Goldilocks | Tooku nai desu. | |
| English | It is not far. |
| 1. | samui _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 2. | tanoshii _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 3. | amai _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 4. | atatakai _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 5. | osoi _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| Now try the past negative: | |
| 1. | muzukashii _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 2. | chikai _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 3. | isogashii _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 4. | ii _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
| 5. | akai (red) _____________________Formal _____________________Plain _____________________Goldilocks _____________________English _____________________ |
Goldilocks is a level often used by the Japanese in conversation, as it is polite without stuffiness, and friendly without rudeness.
To summarize, there are two levels of speech in the affirmative, both past and nonpast, (formal and plain), and there are three levels in the negative (formal, informal, and Goldilocks).
7. Deshoo and Deshoo?
The addition of deshoo to an adjective in either the affirmative or negative, past or non-past, can have one of two meanings. When it is said with a rising intonation deshoo? it carries the meaning of isn’t it? aren’t they? aren’t you? etc. This deshoo? corresponds roughly to desu ne, although deshoo? is somewhat less certain than desu ne. Thus, samui deshoo? and samui desu ne both mean, it’s cold, isn’t it?
When deshoo is said with a lowering intonation, it takes on the meaning of probably, must be, must not be, must have been, or must not have been, depending on the tense of the adjective. This deshoo is often used by the Japanese when speaking of the states of being and the emotions of others. For example, the Japanese would never point to someone and say, “Samui desu” (she feels cold). They would rather say, Samui deshoo (she probably feels cold, or she must be cold), as they cannot state with certainty the condition of another person.
The difference in intonation is best studied orally. Our purpose here is to understand its usage and practice its formation.
For both usages, the word deshoo is added to the plain form of the adjective in the nonpast affirmative and negative, and in the past affirmative and negative. Deshoo requires that a plain form precede it. However, the resulting sentence is considered formal.
| Example: | Oishii deshoo. | = | It probably tastes good. |
| Oishiku nai deshoo? | = | It doesn’t taste good, does it? | |
| Oishikatta deshoo? | = | It was good, wasn’t it? | |
| Oishiku nakatta deshoo. | = | It must not have tasted good. |
In this exercise, read the description of the situation and respond with an appropriate form of oishii and either deshoo or deshoo? Think carefully about the tense of your sentences.
1. You’ve brought your friend to your favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. Your friend wants to order a new dish on the menu, guacamole sushi. You discourage him by saying:
_________________________________________
2. The two of you select the specialty tacos. Your food arrives and as you eat, you say to your friend:
_________________________________________
3. You look at the dessert menu and your friend asks how the caramel flan is. You say you’ve never tried it, but:
_________________________________________
4. Your meal was superb. Your friend has just licked the last of the caramel flan off his plate. You say:
_________________________________________
5. Your friend recounts his last experience with a Tex-Mex meal at the Grungy Gerry’s Taco Palace. You say:
_________________________________________
Read these sentences aloud with the proper intonaton and then explain what they mean. An asterisk next to an adjective means that you will find the meaning in the Other Adjectives section of this text.
1. Kyoo wa suzushii deshoo?
_________________________________________
2. Ashita mo suzushii deshoo.
_________________________________________
3. Ano eiga wa omoshiroku nakatta deshoo?
_________________________________________
4. Nihon wa utsukushii deshoo.
_________________________________________
5. Nihongo wa muzukashiku nai deshoo?
_________________________________________
6. Kono mizu wa tsumetai deshoo?
_________________________________________
7. Tookyoo wa mushiatsukatta* deshoo.
_________________________________________
8. Sugoi* deshoo?!
_________________________________________
9. Ima wa isogashiku nai deshoo.
_________________________________________
10. Hikooki wa hayai deshoo?
_________________________________________
Using the adjective indicated, write the Japanese equivalent of the following sentences. As you write, vocalize your answers with the proper intonation. Also keep in mind that subject pronouns such as it, they, he, etc. are usually not used in Japanese.
Be careful with your tenses! Must have been and must not have been indicate situations in the past.
| 1. | yasashiiIt’s probably easy. _____________________It must have been easy. _____________________It wasn’t easy, was it? _____________________ |
| 2. | mushiatsuiIt must be hot & humid. _____________________It was hot & humid, wasn’t it? _____________________It probably isn’t hot & humid. _____________________ |
| 3. | omoshiroiIt isn’t interesting, is it? _____________________It’s probably not interesting. _____________________It must be interesting. _____________________ |
| 4. | mazushiiThey’re probably poor. _____________________They’re poor, aren’t they? _____________________They’re not poor, are they? _____________________ |
| 5. | kibishiiShe was strict, wasn’t she? _____________________She’s probably not strict. _____________________She’s strict, isn’t she? _____________________ |
| 6. | ureshiiShe must be happy. _____________________She’s probably not happy. _____________________She must have been happy. _____________________ |
| 7. | sabishiiHe must be lonely. _____________________He must have been lonely. _____________________He probably wasn’t lonely. _____________________ |
| 8. | shiroiIt’s white, isn’t it? _____________________It wasn’t white, was it? _____________________It must have been white. _____________________ |
Read these situations. Select an appropriate adjective and add either deshoo or deshoo? Again, be careful of the tense you use. Refer to the Other Adjectives list if you need help.
1. You heard that Taroo has a new girlfriend. You’re with him when he gets a perfumed letter from her. He is all smiles. You say to him:
_________________________________________
2. The organic chemistry course at your university has a reputation for being tough. When you are asked by a freshman about the rigor of the professors, you say:
_________________________________________
3. You and your friend are monster movie aficionados. After seeing the latest box office hit in this genre, you say to her:
_________________________________________
4. You bump into a friend on his way to get a flu shot. You allay his fears about the pain of the injection by saying:
_________________________________________
5. Although you’ve never visited Alaska in mid-January, what comment could you reasonably make about the weather at that time of year?
_________________________________________
6. Your friends are discussing Hanako’s new 2-carat engagement ring. What comment could you make about its price?
_________________________________________
7. Toshio tells you that earlier that day, he played 5 sets of tennis when the temperature was 95 degrees in the shade. What would be an appropriate verbal reaction on your part?
_________________________________________
8. What comment could be made about the volume of business in June at a store specializing in skiing equipment?
8. Straddling the Fence
Very often you will hear the particle wa inserted between the -ku form and any negative form. Look at this brief exchange:
Q: Kono terebi wa takakatta desu ka?
A: Iie. Takaku wa nakatta desu.
In response to the question, Was this TV expensive? the speaker answers, No. It wasn’t what one would call expensive. The speaker’s answer does not mean, however, that the TV was inexpensive. The wa particle in this case is used to “straddle the fence” as the speaker wants to say that although the item in question was not expensive, he does not want to go so far as to say that it was cheap.
Other ways to think of this pattern in English would be:
It’s not exactly what you’d call expensive.
I wouldn’t say that it was expensive.
This construction may be used with any negative form:
atsuku wa arimasen
atsuku wa nai desu
atsuku wa nai
atsuku wa arimasen deshita
atsuku wa nakatta desu
atsuku wa nakatta
Answer these questions using the wa particle to “qualify” the negative. It is not necessary to repeat the subject if it is understood. Give the English equivalent of your answer.
1. Kono terebi wa ii desu ne. Takakatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
(Eng.)___________________________________
2. Sono suupu wa oishii desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
3. Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
4. Sono shoosetsu wa omoshiroi desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
5. Kyoo wa isogashikatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
6. Natsu wa atsukatta desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
7. Anata no uchi wa hiroi desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
8. Mizu wa tsumetai deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
9. Yama wa tooi deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
10. Sono sensei wa warui desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
11. Kono suupaa no yasai wa atarashii deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
12. Sono depaato wa yasui desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
13. Sono eiga wa omoshirokatta deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
14. Kono jisho wa furui desu ka?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
15. Sono basu wa hayakatta deshoo?
Iie.______________________________________
_________________________________________
9. Soo Desu
The use of soo desu following the plain form of an adjective differs from the soo desu meaning it’s true, that’s correct, etc. The soo desu we are going to look at here is used to report hearsay as in, I understand that it ..., I hear that ..., I heard that....
This construction is made by adding soo desu to a plain form of the adjective in both the past, non-past, affirmative, and negative depending on what you want your sentence to mean.
| Example: | Samui soo desu. | = | I understand it is cold. |
| Samuku nai soo desu. | = | I understand it isn’t cold. | |
| Samukatta soo desu. | = | I understand it was cold. | |
| Samuku nakatta soo desu. | = | I understand it wasn’t cold. |
Notice that desu is not changed to the past or negative. Those issues have already been taken care of by the adjective preceding soo desu. The use of the plain form is a requirement before soo desu and does not mean that the sentence is informal.
Write the meaning of the following in Japanese. Do not translate subject pronouns such as I, she, he, they, it, etc.
1. I hear it’s hot.
_________________________________________
I hear it’s not hot.
_________________________________________
I hear it was hot.
_________________________________________
I hear it wasn’t hot.
_________________________________________
2. I understand that she’s busy.
_________________________________________
I understand that she was busy.
_________________________________________
I understand that she wasn’t busy.
_________________________________________
I understand that she isn’t busy.
_________________________________________
3. It’s my understanding that it’s new.
_________________________________________
It’s my understanding that it wasn’t new.
_________________________________________
It’s my understanding that it’s not new.
_________________________________________
It’s my understanding that it was new.
_________________________________________
4. I heard that it’s expensive.
_________________________________________
I heard that it’s not expensive.
_________________________________________
I heard that it wasn’t expensive.
_________________________________________
I heard that it was expensive.
_________________________________________
5. I understand that it wasn’t good.
_________________________________________
I understand that it’s not good.
_________________________________________
I understand that it was good.
_________________________________________
I understand that it is good.
_________________________________________
What do you think these sentences mean?
1. Ano resutoran wa totemo oishii soo desu.
_________________________________________
2. Sono zasshi wa zenzen omoshiroku nakatta soo desu.
_________________________________________
3. Shiken wa totemo muzukashii soo desu.
_________________________________________
4. Ano kutsu wa anmari yoku nai soo desu.
_________________________________________
5. Tenki wa ii soo desu.
_________________________________________
6. Eiga no kippu wa yasukatta soo desu.
_________________________________________
Now it’s your turn to try your hand at making sentences with soo desu.
1. I understand that she’s very busy today.
_________________________________________
2. My understanding is that it will cost a lot.
_________________________________________
3. I heard that the tickets weren’t cheap.
_________________________________________
4. I heard that Japan isn’t very hot.
_________________________________________
5. I hear that her house isn’t very big.
_________________________________________
6. I heard that the test wasn’t difficult at all.
_________________________________________
7. I understand that the vegetables aren’t very fresh.
_________________________________________
8. I heard that the car was old.
_________________________________________
9. I heard that it was a lot of fun.
_________________________________________
10. I hear that the train isn’t very fast.
_________________________________________
10. The -ku Form of the Adjective
When an adjective in Japanese is used to describe the way an action is done, the adjective must be changed to its -ku form. In other words, the -ku form is the adverb form of the adjective. This form is already familiar to you in the negative form of adjectives. Here, let’s look at other ways in which the -ku form is used.
The -ku form or adverb form of an adjective is made by dropping the last i from the dictionary form and adding -ku. Thus, atsui becomes atsuku. The only exception to this is the adjective ii which is always inflected from yoi. The adverb form of ii is yoku. (The adverb yoku, by the way, can mean well, often, a great deal.)
Write the -ku form of the following adjectives:
1. atsui _____________________
2. omoshiroi _____________________
3. kibishii* _____________________
4. amai _____________________
5. hayai _____________________
6. isogashii _____________________
7. tanoshii _____________________
8. akai* _____________________
9. mazushii* _____________________
10. tooi _____________________
11. ookii _____________________
12. yasui _____________________
13. ii _____________________
14. chikai _____________________
15. suzushii _____________________
16. yasashii _____________________
17. karai _____________________
18. oishii _____________________
19. atarashii _____________________
20. warui _____________________
The word narimashita is the past tense of the verb narimasu, meaning become. In colloquial English, we sometimes use the word get for narimasu or got for narimashita as in It got (became) hot. In Japanese we would say atsuku narimashita. The -ku form of the adjective is used, as it describes how something became.
Write the following sentences using the -ku form of the appropriate adjectives with either narimasu or narimashita depending on the tense of the English sentence. Keep in mind that narimasu is used for both present and future situations.
1. It got cold. _____________________
2. It became cheap(er). _____________________
3. It got interesting. _____________________
4. It will get easy. _____________________
5. It became red. _____________________
6. It gets fun. _____________________
7. She became beautiful. _____________________
8. We got busy. _____________________
9. She got well. _____________________
10. It will get dirty. _____________________
11. It will get cool. _____________________
12. It got noisy. _____________________
13. Japanese became difficult. _____________________
14. The teacher became strict. _____________________
15. The problem became easy. _____________________
16. The car became old. _____________________
17. It will get warm. _____________________
18. The weather got bad. _____________________
19. The coffee became cold. _____________________
20. I became lonely. _____________________
The -ku form is also used with the verb shimasu to express the idea someone makes something big, small, cheap, etc.
| Example: | She will make it large. | = | Ookiku shimasu. |
| She made it large. | = | Ookiku shimashita. |
Since the adjective describes how someone does something, the -ku form of the adjective is required.
Try this exercise. Again, take care to choose the proper tense of the verb shimasu.
1. I’ll make it hot. _____________________
2. He lowered the price. _____________________
3. They made it interesting. _____________________
4. I’ll make it early. _____________________
5. The teacher made it difficult. _____________________
6. Will you make them small? _____________________
7. He made it fun. _____________________
8. She made it spicy. _____________________
The following is a list of verbs with their English eguivalents. Although each verb here is given in the past tense, the -ku form of the adjective may be used with any tense.
| tabemashita | ate |
| kaimashita | bought |
| arukimashita | walked |
| kimashita | came |
| benkyoo shimashita | studied |
| hatarakimashita | worked |
| oshiemashita | taught |
| tatemashita | built |
| asobimashita | played |
| urimashita | sold |
| setsumei shimashita | explained |
| okimashita | woke up |
| nemashita | went to bed |
| iimashita | said |
| hanashimashita | spoke, talked |
See if you can understand the meaning of the sentences below. If you get stumped, start with the verb and work backwards. If the subject or object of the sentence has been omitted in the Japanese sentence, supply an appropriate one. Keep in mind that although a literal translation may not work sometimes, the -ku form of the adjective will always describe how an action is done.
| Example: | Kuwashiku setsumei shimashita. Literally: [She] explained [it] detailedly. Better: [She] explained [it] in detail. |
1. Hayaku okimashita. ____________________
2. Osoku kimashita. ____________________
3. Isogashiku hatarakimashita. ____________________
4. Kuruma o takaku urimashita. ____________________
5. Sensei wa kibishiku oshiemashita. ____________________
6. Hayaku nemashita. ____________________
7. Uchi o atarashiku tatemashita. ____________________
8. Sensei wa kuwashiku setsumei shimashita. ____________________
Translate the following sentences. The sentences are in idiomatic English, but can be said using one of the adjectives you already know.
1. I sold it at a low price. ____________________
2. We came late. _____________________
3. She went to sleep early. ____________________
4. He spoke in detail. _____________________
5. She said it nicely. _____________________
6. He studied well. _____________________
7. I bought it at a high price. _____________________
8. They played merrily. ____________________
9. I told her sternly. ____________________
10. We got up late. _________________
11. Linking Adjectives
If you want to link two or more adjectives together in Japanese, to say for example that something is delicious and cheap, you need to know how to make the -te form of the adjective.
The -te form is made by dropping the last i of the dictionary form of the adjective and adding -kute. Thus, the -te form of samui is samukute.
There are two additional bits of information you need to know about the -te form:
| 1) | the -te form does not have a tense. It takes the tense of the last inflected expression of the sentence. |
| Example: | Oishikute yasui desu. = It is good and cheap. Oishikute yasukatta desu. = It was good and cheap. |
| Therefore, the -te form of both oishii and oishikatta is oishikute. | |
| 2) | The -te form cannot end a sentence. |
As fast as you can, write the -te form of the following adjectives. Adjectives followed by an asterisk (*) can be found in the section on Other Adjectives.
1. takai ____________________
2. atsukatta ____________________
3. mezurashii* ____________________
4. oishii ____________________
5. chikakatta ____________________
6. kitanai* ____________________
7. suzushii ____________________
8. tanoshii ____________________
9. yokatta ____________________
10. furui ____________________
Write the -te form for each English adjective below.
1. hot ____________________
2. interesting ____________________
3. new ____________________
4. late ____________________
5. delicious ____________________
6. small ____________________
7. bad ____________________
8. far ____________________
9. warm ____________________
10. beautiful* ____________________
11. inexpensive ____________________
12. busy ____________________
In order to make a sentence with linked adjectives—for example, it is cold and delicious—you would change the first adjective to the -te form and add your second adjective:
| It is cold | = | Tsumetai desu. (-te form = tsumetakute) |
| delicious | = | oishii desu |
The complete sentence would be: Tsumetakute oishii desu.
Note that the word and is not expressed directly in Japanese. The concept of and when linking two or more adjectives is included in the -te form of the adjective.
Depending on the situation, the -te form can also show the reason for the second clause.
| Example: | Furukute warui desu. = It is old and bad. Or, It is old [and so] it is bad. |
Link the following sentences together using the -te form of the adjective. It is not necessary to repeat the subject if it is the same for both adjectives. See if you can tell whether the -te form simply means and or and so or either depending on context.
| Example: | Sono sushi wa yasui desu. Sono sushi wa oishii desu. Ans: Sono sushi wa yasukute oishii desu. |
1. Kore wa atarashii desu.
Kore wa ii desu.
_________________________________________
2. Kono koohii wa atsui desu.
Kono koohii wa oishii desu.
_________________________________________
3. Kono resutoran wa takakatta desu.
Kono resutoran wa mazukatta desu.
_________________________________________
4. Ano inu wa chiisai desu.
Ano inu wa kawaii* desu.
_________________________________________
5. Kono kuruma wa furui desu.
Kono kuruma wa yoku arimasen.
_________________________________________
6. Kono niku wa yasui desu.
Kono niku wa atarashii desu.
Kono niku wa oishii desu.
_________________________________________
Use of the -te form does not necessarily mean that the last predicate of the sentence must be an adjective. The sentence may be completed with a verb, the copula (desu or one of its forms) or an adjective.
| Example: | Oishikute takusan tabemashita. | = | It was delicious so I ate a lot. |
Translate the following sentences:
1. Sushi ga oishikute, takusan (a lot) tabemashita.
_________________________________________
2. Kinoo wa isogashikute taihen deshita.
_________________________________________
3. Ano inu wa ookikute takusan tabemasu.
_________________________________________
4. Ano eiga wa omoshirokute, nido (twice) mimashita.
_________________________________________
5. Kono kooen wa tanoshikute, mainichi kimasu.
_________________________________________
Write these sentences in Japanese:
1. The water is cold and delicious.
_________________________________________
2. The computer is old and so is not good.
_________________________________________
3. That restaurant is inexpensive and good.
_________________________________________
4. (My) eyes are red and hurt*.
_________________________________________
5. The teacher is young and beautiful.
_________________________________________
6. That pizza was good so I ate it everyday.
_________________________________________
7. It’s big and blue*.
_________________________________________
8. It’s unusual* and interesting.
_________________________________________
9. The watch is small and expensive.
_________________________________________
10. It’s old and so it doesn’t taste good.
_________________________________________
11. The bus is slow and dirty*.
_________________________________________
12. The cat is small and cute*.
_________________________________________
12. The -te Form of Negative Adjectives
What if you wanted to say, It’s not bad and it’s inexpensive. In other words, you are describing it as having two characteristics, not bad and inexpensive. To express this idea, you could say, Yasukute waruku nai desu, or you could use the negative -te form of warui, waruku nakute yasui desu.
To make the -te form of a negative adjective: first make the negative plain form, then drop the i from nai and add -kute.
Example: atsui > atsuku nai > atsuku nakute
The negative -te form, like the -te form we have just studied, has no tense. The tense of the sentence is determined by the last inflected expression.
Try doing this exercise with the adjectives indicated:
Neg. short form Neg. -te form
1. ookii _____________________
2. mazui _____________________
3. tooi _____________________
4. urusai* _____________________
5. atatakai _____________________
6. aoi* _____________________
7. isogashii _____________________
8. kuroi* _____________________
9. sabishii* _____________________
10. samui _____________________
11. chikai _____________________
12. kawaii* _____________________
13. ii _____________________
14. yasashii _____________________
15. suzushii _____________________
As fast as you can, write the negative -te form of the following adjectives which are given in English:
Example: not far (and) > tooku nakute
1. not small (and) _____________________
2. not cheap (and) _____________________
3. not difficult (and) _____________________
4. not interesting (and) _____________________
5. not lonely* (and) _____________________
6. not cool (and) _____________________
7. not bad tasting (and) _____________________
8. not expensive (and) _____________________
9. not fun (and) _____________________
10. not unusual* (and) _____________________
11. not old (and) _____________________
12. not bad (and) _____________________
13. not easy (and) _____________________
14. not sweet (and) _____________________
15. not dangerous* (and) _____________________
The same rules apply in making a sentence with a negative -te form as for the -te form in the affirmative. Remember that, depending on the meaning, the -te form can mean either and or and so.
Try these sentences yourself:
1. The car wasn’t old and so it was good.
_________________________________________
2. The beer isn’t cold so it tasted bad.
_________________________________________
3. The meat isn’t fresh so it tastes bad.
_________________________________________
4. The dictionary isn’t big so it’s good.
_________________________________________
5. Today wasn’t hot so it was good.
_________________________________________
