第14課: Adjectival Nouns 形容動詞
意味 | 基本形・連体形(+な) | 終止形(+だ) | 終止形(+です) |
Safe |
Anzen(-na) 安全(な) |
Anzen-da 安全だ |
Anzen-desu 安全です |
Healthy |
Kenkō(-na) 健康(な) |
Kenkō-da 健康だ |
Kenkō-desu 健康です |
Lively/Well |
Genki(-na) 元気(な) |
Genki-da 元気だ |
Genki-desu 元気です |
Convenient |
Benri(-na) 便利(な) |
Benri-da 便利だ |
Benri-desu 便利です |
Inconvenient |
Fuben(-na)不便(な) |
Fuben-da 不便だ |
Fuben-desu 不便です |
Orthography Note:
A hyphen will be placed in between the stem of the 形容動詞 and the copula to indicate that they are joined together when being used adjectivally. However, when the 形容動詞 is, in fact, used as a noun, no hyphen will be used. This will make the role of the word clear for whenever you might get confused. This convention will remain true for all forms of the copula.
Terminology Notes:
①Imi 意味 = Meaning
②The basic form (kihonkei 基本形) of keiyōdōshi 形容動詞 is thought to be its attributive form (rentaikei 連体形)--the form that is used to modify nouns), whereas for other conjugatable parts of speech the predicative form (shūshikei 終止形) serves this role. This is because the adjectival nature of these words is indisputable when placed before a noun, but when it's elsewhere in a sentence, depending on the word, it may not be an adjectival at all (ex. バカ!= you idiot!).
Vocabulary Notes:
①Anzen 安全 may also be used as a noun in the sense of "safety."
②健康 may also be used as a noun meaning "health," and its overall meaning is tied strictly to physical health. When asking about whether someone is "健康" or not, it is seldom used directly to someone and is more likely to be directed at people whose health is of concern such as the elderly or those with preexisting conditions.
③Understanding and using genki 元気 properly requires a considerable amount of study. It is famous for being used in the phrase "o-genki desu ka? お元気ですか" which translates "how are you?" However, both its nominal (noun-like) and adjectival meanings are heavily interconnected to a much deeper cultural concept. See Lesson ??? (this lesson is under construction).
④Even benri 便利 and fuben 不便 can be used as nouns. For example, 便利が悪い means "(the) convenience (of it) is bad," and the opposite of this is 便利がいい, which translates as "(the) convenience (of it) is good." The odd thing is that although these phrases are listed in dictionaries as Standard Japanese phrases, a large percentage of speakers find them unnatural/ungrammatical, preferring simply using 不便だ and 便利だ respectively. This is a sign of the noun-like meanings of these words disappearing. However, when they are used as the direct object of the sentence, they may still be found in a handful of set phrases. Since the focus of this lesson is on adjectival phrases, we'll leave those usages to future discovery.
Just from this handful of words, we can surmise that many keiyōdōshi 形容動詞 have both nominal and adjectival usages. Of course, the best way to tell the difference is by looking at actual sentences.
1. 病院は安全です。 (Adjectival)
Byōin wa anzen-desu.
The hospital is safe./Hospitals are safe.
2. 安全第一!(Nominal)
Anzen Dai-Ichi!
Safety First!
3. チェコ語は簡単だ。(Adjectival)
Chekogo wa kantan-da.
Czech is easy.
4. (私たちの)健康は大切です。(Nominal)
(Watashitachi no) kenkō wa taisetsu-desu.
(Our) health is important.
5. 元気な子供ですね。(Adjectival)
Genki-na kodomo desu ne.
The child/children are sure full of energy, huh.
6. 私の歯は健康です。(Adjectival)
Watashi no ha wa kenkō-desu.
My teeth are healthy.
7. 毎日の生活で一番不便なことは何ですか。(Adjectival)
Mainichi no seikatsu de ichiban fuben-na koto wa nan desu ka?
What is the most inconvenient thing in your everyday life?
Grammar Notes:
①The particle か marks a question. We'll learn more about it in Lesson 19.
②Ichiban 一番 literally means "number one," but when it is used as an adverb, it means "most." Adverbs modify adjectives by being placed in front of them. Because "most" is expressed with an adverb, the adjective itself doesn't change form, which is not the case in English for many adjectives (ex. "good" vs "best").
③In Lesson 8, we learned that mono もの means "thing," but when the "thing" is not necessarily a physical object and when there is a need to talk about something in a broad context, we use the word koto こと instead.
8. ここは便利な店ですね。
Koko wa benri-na mise desu ne.
This sure is a convenient store.
Phrasing Note: "Convenience store" is actually referred to as kombini コンビニ, a shortening of kombiniensu sutoa コンビニエンスストア. This may come as a surprise to Chinese speakers as 便利店 is their word for "convenience store." Interestingly, the phrase benriya 便利屋 does exist in Japanese, but it refers to a "general merchant/Jack of all trades."
Dropping the Copula
When a 形容動詞 is used as a noun, it goes without saying that it is a separate entity from its tied existence with the copula as an adjectival noun. However, the copula can be omitted in the same situations it can be dropped when used with ordinary nouns like how we saw in Lesson 9. The copula is dropped when the adjectival noun is being used in the predicative form, and by doing so, an interjectory tone is created.
9. おお、見事(だ)!
Ō, migoto (da)!
Oh, how splendid!
10. 僕は元気!
Boku wa genki!
I'm great!
The Existence of Two Attributive Forms: な vs である
When we learned about the copula verb, our main focus was on simple sentences. In this lesson, we have learned that 形容動詞 need the copula to even exist, despite being adjectival in nature. Yet, these "adjectival nouns" are still useable as attributes before a noun just like "true adjectives" (形容詞) thanks to the attributive form な. Remember that です doesn't get an attributive form because, again, it only goes at the end of a sentence.
Now, if the attributive forms of 形容動詞 are made with な, it may seem redundant to then say that the attributive form of the copula is な, but this fact cannot be overlooked. In fact, the plain conjugations of 形容動詞 share this attributive function with "regular nouns + the copula" because it is the copula which forms them.
意味 | 基本形 | +だった(終止形・連体形) | +でした(終止形) |
Pretty/Clean |
Kirei(-na) 綺麗(な) |
Kirei-datta 綺麗だった |
Kirei-deshita 綺麗でした |
Necessary |
Hitsuyō (-na) 必要(な) |
Hitsuyō -datta 必要だった |
Hitsuyō-deshita必要でした |
Important |
Taisetsu(-na) 大切(な) |
Taisetsu-datta 大切だった |
Taisetsu-deshita 大切でした |
Essential |
Jūyō(-na) 重要(な) |
Jūyō-datta 重要だった |
Jūyō-deshita 重要でした |
Crucial/Precious |
Daiji(-na) 大事(な) |
Daiji-datta 大事だった |
Daiji-deshita 大事でした |
Vocabulary Notes:
①There is a degree of overlap between the words taisetsu 大切, jūyō 重要, and daiji 大事 in that they all can translate as "important." However, they are not entirely synonymous.
・大切 refers to something that's important in the sense that if the thing in question were lost, there would be substantial harm/ache felt on an emotional level. The person/thing is indispensable to you. There is a sense of necessity from the heart.
・重要 refers to objective importance.
・大事 refers to things/people you take special care to; it/they're important to you. The word may also be used as a noun meaning "serious matter/crisis."
26. 月は綺麗でした。
Tsuki wa kirei-deshita.
The moon was pretty.
27. 大切だった人
Taisetsu-datta hito
A person who was indispensable/important
28. 英語能力が重要でした。
Eigo nōryoku ga jūyō-deshita.
English proficiency was important.
29. まさに大事だった。
Masa ni daiji(-)datta.
It was a serious matter, exactly.
The negative forms of 形容動詞 are identical to those of the the copula for the obvious reason that their conjugation powers are inherited from the copula attaching to them. Having said that, there is nothing new that has to be learned here. Just remember that polite forms can't be used as attributes.
To recap, however, remember that to form the plain negative forms, you change だ to 【では・じゃ】ない. The contracted form じゃない is preferred in the spoken language, but the opposite is true in the written language. However, when contrast needs to be emphasized, ではない prevails even in the spoken language.
To form the polite negative forms, you either add です directly to these plain forms to create 【では・じゃ】ない 【では・じゃない】です or you replace ない with its proper polite form, to get de wa arimasen 【では・じゃ】 ありません.
意味 | 基本形 | 否定形(常体~丁寧体) |
Strange |
Hen(-na) 変(な) |
Hen-ja-nai 変じゃない Hen-de-wa-nai 変ではない Hen-ja-nai desu 変じゃないです Hen-de-wa-nai desu 変ではないです Hen-ja-arimasen 変じゃありません Hen-de-wa-arimasen 変ではありません |
Excellent |
Yūshū(-na) 優秀(な) |
Yūshū-ja-nai 優秀じゃない Yūshū-de-wa-nai 優秀ではない Yūshū-ja-nai desu 優秀じゃないです Yūshū-de-wa-nai desu 優秀ではないです Yūshū-ja-arimasen 優秀じゃありません Yūshū-de-wa-arimasen 優秀ではありません |
Sufficient |
Jūbun(-na) 十分(な) |
Jūbun-ja-nai 十分じゃない Jūbun-de-wa-nai 十分ではない Jūbun-ja-nai desu 十分じゃないです Jūbun-de-wa-nai desu 十分ではないです Jūbun-ja-arimasen 十分じゃありません Jūbun-de-wa-arimasen 十分ではありません |
Real |
Hontō(-na) 本当(な) |
Hontō-ja-nai 本当じゃない Hontō-de-wa-nai 本当ではない Hontō-ja-nai desu 本当じゃないです Hontō-de-wa-nai desu 本当ではないです Hontō-ja-arimasen 本当じゃありません Hontō-de-wa-arimasen 本当ではありません |
Complicated |
Fukuzatsu(-na) 複雑(な) |
Fukuzatsu-ja-nai 複雑じゃない
Fukuzatsu-de-wa-nai 複雑ではない Fukuzatsu-ja-nai desu 複雑じゃないです Fukuzatsu-de-wa-nai desu 複雑ではないです Fukuzatsu-ja-arimasen 複雑じゃありません Fukuzatsu-de-wa-arimasen 複雑ではありません |
Orthography Note:
Although the individual parts of the negative forms of the copula could be written out separately, to show the copula attaches to 形容動詞, a hyphen is inserted in between each part with exception to the politeness function of です as this use of です is viewed by many to not be copular in nature.
Vocabulary Notes:
① Yūshū 優秀 refers to someone's skill(s) being exceptional.
② Hontō 本当 can also mean "really" and may be used as a noun, adjective, and an adverb. It can also translate as "true," "genuine," etc.
30. この気持ちは変じゃない。
Kono kimochi wa hen-ja-nai.
This/these feeling(s) is/are not strange.
31. あれはもはや重要ではない。
Are wa mohaya jūyō de-wa-nai.
That is no longer important.
32. この人は会社員としては優秀じゃありません。
Kono hito wa kaishain to shite wa yūshū-ja-arimasen.
This person isn’t excellent as a company employee.
33. 酸素は有害ではありません。
Sanso wa yūgai-de-wa-arimasen
Oxygen is not harmful.
34. 私は平気じゃないです。
Watashi wa heiki-ja-nai desu.
I’m not fine.
The negative-past is most likely going to appear at the end of the sentence, but when it does appear mid-sentence, it is most likely in an imbedded sentence (a predicate turned into a modifier). As far as what the negative-past looks like from plain~polite speech for 形容動詞, these forms look no different than they did with the copula as, again, the copula is what conjugates them.
With that being said, we will forego an etymological breakdown. Instead, the recap chart below will still show two examples with the different variations ranked from least to most polite. By now, you should be comfortable with understanding how formality is affected by speech style (plain vs. polite) and contractions (では vs じゃ). You will notice, however, as was the case in the last few examples, that other 形容動詞 not shown in the conjugation charts will be used in aims to boost your vocabulary.
意味 | 基本形 | 過去の否定形(常体~丁寧体) |
Dangerous |
Kiken(-na) 危険(な) |
Kiken-ja-nakatta 危険じゃなかった Kiken-de-wa-nakatta 危険ではなかった Kiken-ja-nakatta desu 危険じゃなかったです Kiken-de-wa-nakatta desu 危険ではなかったです Kiken-ja-arimasendeshita 危険じゃありませんでした Kiken-de-wa-arimasendeshita 危険ではありませんでした |
Appropriate |
Tekisetsu(-na) 適切(な) |
Tekisetsu-ja-nakatta 適切じゃなかった Tekisetsu-de-wa-nakatta 適切ではなかった Tekisetsu-ja-nakatta desu 適切じゃなかったです Tekisetsu-de-wa-nakatta desu 適切ではなかったです Tekisetsu-ja-arimasendeshita 適切じゃありませんでした Tekisetsu-de-wa-arimasendeshita 適切ではありませんでした |
36. 昔は公平ではありませんでした。
Mukashi wa kōhei-de-wa-arimasendeshita.
The olden days were not fair.
37. 全然失礼じゃなかったですよ。
Zenzen shitsurei ja nakatta desu yo.
(That) wasn’t rude at all.
38. 私、冷静じゃなかったですね。
Watashi, reisei-ja-nakatta desu ne.
I wasn’t calm, huh.
39. 僕は別に特別じゃなかったです。
Boku wa betsu ni tokubetsu-ja-nakatta desu.
I wasn’t particularly special.
40. 記述が正確じゃなかった。
Kijutsu ga seikaku-ja-nakatta.
The description wasn’t accurate.
41. 初恋は残酷でした。
Hatsukoi wa zankoku-deshita.
My first love was cruel.
42. それは適切ではなかった。
Sore wa tekisetsu-de-wa-nakatta.
That was not appropriate.
43. あの町は危険じゃなかった。
Ano machi wa kiken-ja-nakatta.
That town wasn’t dangerous.
44. 彼らは熱心じゃなかった。
Karera wa nesshin-ja-nakatta.
They weren’t enthusiastic.
Some resources erroneously state that 形容動詞 arose due to influence from Chinese loanwords. Although it is true that most are Sino-Japanese in origin, native adjectival nouns have presumably always existed, and many even have a 形容詞 counterpart.
Sometimes the adjectival noun form is made by dropping /i/ and just using the stem, but most are made by following the stem with the suffixes -ka か, -raka らか, or-yaka やか※. The difference in nuance is usually that the 形容動詞 forms are more fitting in abstract, intangible contexts and/or refined speech. Seeing what words each pair of words are used with respectively is the best way to grasp nuance differences that may exist.
意味 | 語幹 | 形容詞 | 形容動詞 (+か・らか・やか等) |
New |
Ara- |
Atarashii 新しい |
Arata-da 新ただ △ |
Quiet |
Shizu- |
|
Shizuka-da 静かだ |
Loud |
Taka- |
Takai 高い |
高らかだ △ |
Soft |
Yawa- |
Yawarakai 柔らかい |
Yawaraka-da 柔らかだ △ |
Fine/small |
Koma- |
Komakai 細かい※ |
Komaka-da 細かだ △ |
Flat |
Tai- |
|
Taira-da 平らだ |
Small |
Chiisa- |
Chiisai 小さい |
Chiisana 小さな |
Big |
Ō- |
Ōkii 大きい |
Ōkina 大きな |
意味 | 形容動詞 | 意味 | 形容動詞 |
Rare |
Mare(-na) 稀(な) |
Warped |
Ibitsu(-na) 歪(な) |
Reckless |
Nageyari(-na) 投げやり(な) |
Various |
Iroiro(-na) 色々(な) |
Pitiful |
Aware(-na) 哀れ(な) |
Unpleasant |
Iya(-na) 嫌(な) |
Obvious |
Atarimae(-na) 当たり前 |
Dirty |
Etchi(-na) エッチ(な) |
Vocabulary Notes:
①Atarimae 当たり前 actually comes from a misspelling of tōzen 当然 turned into a native word. The two words are interchangeable.
②Despite being spelled in Katakana or even as the letter H, the word etchi エッチ meaning "dirty (lewd)" is actually Japanese-derived but thanks to foreign influence. The leading theory is that it does indeed come from the "H" in the romanized spelling of hentai 変態, which is a noun many foreigners know to mean "(sexual) perversion," but its Japanese meaning is actually broader than this and can actually refer to abnormalities in general as well as metamorphosis/transformation in science.
51. トレーニングが必要なことも稀ではありません。
Torēningu ga hitsuyō-na koto mo mare-de-wa-arimasen.
It is also not rare for training to be necessary.
52. 歪な形をしている。
Ibitsu-na katachi wo shite iru.
It has a warped shape.
53. それは当たり前だよ。
Sore wa atarimae-da yo.
That's obvious.
54. 投げやりな態度
Nageyari-na taido
A reckless attitude
Whenever an adjectival phrase is either borrowed from or inspired by a modern foreign language, the resultant phrase is by default a 形容動詞※. Most examples happen to have existing vocabulary to fit their role, but for whatever reason, they continue being borrowed into the language anyway. For instance, there are already other phrases that translate as "unique" such as dokutoku-na 独特な, but the English-derived yuniiku-na ユニークな also exists.
意味 | 形容動詞 | 意味 | 形容動詞 |
Modern |
モダン(な) |
Handsome |
ハンサム(な) |
Realistic |
リアル(な) |
Chic |
シック(な) |
Smart/slender/stylish |
スマート(な) |
Formal |
フォーマル(な) |