7.5. Adjectives



7.5.1. Present forms


English adjectives are more similar to nouns than to verbs, so they require the copula be to become predicates. On the other hand, Japanese adjectives are much more similar to verbs, so they don't need a copula. They have inflection like verbs.

All the Japanese adjectives end with the hiragana (i) /i/ "i" if they are in the present form. An adjective consists of a root and a suffix as verbs do, and the root never changes while suffixes can change. The final /i/ in the present form of an adjective is the suffix, and the rest is the root. Please note that the suffix for the present form of verbs is /u/, and that of adjectives is /i/.

Here are some adjectives:

AdjectiveRootSuffixMeaning
Hiragana:(yo)(i)
Phonemes:yo'i
Romanization:yoi
/yo/ /i/ is good
Hiragana:(a)(tu)(i)
Phonemes:atu'i
Romanization:atsui
/a tu/ is hot
Hiragana:(u)(re)(si)(i)
Phonemes:uresi'i
Romanization:ureshii
/u re si/ is glad
Hiragana:(o)(i)(si)(i)
Phonemes:oisi'i
Romanization:oishii
/o i si/ is tasty

Since adjectives always end with the hiragana (i) /i/, the root of an adjective always ends with a vowel. Japanese adjectives are similar to verbs, so you can consider them to be a combination of the copula be and an adjective in English.

These are examples of adjectives:

Hiragana: (su)(si)(ha)    (o)(i)(si)(i) (period)
Phonemes: su'siwa oisi'i
Romanization: Sushiwa oishii.
Structure: noun
(sushi)
topic
marker
adjective
(is tasty)
Meaning:Sushi is tasty.

Hiragana: (ki)(mo)(no)(ha)    (u)(tu)(ku)(si)(i) (period)
Phonemes: kimonowa utukusi'i
Romanization: Kimonowa utsukushii.
Structure: noun
(kimono)
topic
marker
adjective
(is beautiful)
Meaning:Kimonos are beautiful.



7.5.2. Past forms


Add the suffix (ka)(small tu)(ta) /kaQta/ "ka t ta" to the root of an adjective to create its past form.

Present formPast form
AdjectiveMeaningAdjectiveMeaning
Hiragana:(yo)(i)
Phonemes:yo'i
Romanization:yoi
is good
(yo)(ka)(small tu)(ta)
yo'kaQta
yokatta
was good
Hiragana:(a)(tu)(i)
Phonemes:atu'i
Romanization:atsui
is hot
(a)(tu)(ka)(small tu)(ta)
atu'kaQta
atsukatta
was hot
Hiragana:(u)(re)(si)(i)
Phonemes:uresi'i
Romanization:ureshii
is glad
(u)(re)(si)(ka)(small tu)(ta)
uresi'kaQta
ureshikatta
was glad
Hiragana:(o)(i)(si)(i)
Phonemes:oisi'i
Romanization:oishii
is tasty
(o)(i)(si)(ka)(small tu)(ta)
oisi'kaQta
oishikatta
was tasty

This is an example of the past form of adjectives:

Hiragana: (su)(si)(ha)    (o)(i)(si)(ka)(small tu)(ta) (period)
Phonemes: su'siwa oisi'kaQta
Romanization: Sushiwa oishikatta.
Structure: noun
(sushi)
topic
marker
adjective
(was tasty)
Meaning:The sushi was tasty.



7.5.3. Polite forms


Adjectives don't have a politeness suffix like verbs' politeness suffix (ma)(su) /ma' su/ "masu", so you have to add the polite copula (de)(su) /de su/ "desu" to the end of an adjective in order to make it polite. Make the past form of an adjective first, then add (de)(su) /de su/ "desu" to it to make its polite past form.

Examples:

Hiragana: (su)(si)(ha)    (o)(i)(si)(i)(de)(su) (period)
Phonemes: su'siwa oisi'idesu
Romanization: Sushiwa oishiidesu.
Structure: noun
(sushi)
topic
marker
adjective
(is tasty)
suffix
(polite mode)

Hiragana: (su)(si)(ha)    (o)(i)(si)(ka)(small tu)(ta)(de)(su) (period)
Phonemes: su'siwa oisi'kaQtadesu
Romanization: Sushiwa oishikattadesu.
Structure: noun
(sushi)
topic
marker
adjective
(was tasty)
suffix
(polite mode)

The polite past form adjectives don't end with (ta) /ta/ "ta" because of the politeness suffix. Making the polite form before making the past form is not allowed for adjectives, which would produce (o)(i)(si)(i)(de)(si)(ta) /o i si' i de si ta/ "oishiideshita" in the case of the second example shown above.


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