な-Adjectives
な-adjectives — conjugation using copula forms
Can conjugate な-adjectives
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
この町は静かです。
This town is quiet.
きれいな花ですね。
It's a pretty flower, isn't it?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
な形容詞 — な-Adjectives
な-adjectives conjugate like nouns, using the copula (です/じゃない). Before nouns, they take な.
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 元気です | 元気じゃありません |
| Past | 元気でした | 元気じゃありませんでした |
Before nouns: 元気な人 (an energetic person). Compare: 大きい人 (い-adj, no な needed).
Common な-adjectives:
| 元気(な)(energetic) | 静か(な)(quiet) | 好き(な)(liked) | 嫌い(な)(disliked) |
| 上手(な)(skilled) | 下手(な)(unskilled) | 有名(な)(famous) | 大変(な)(tough) |
| 便利(な)(convenient) | きれい(な)(pretty/clean) | 親切(な)(kind) | 大切(な)(important) |
Tricky: きれい and 有名 look like い-adjectives but are な-adjectives! (きれいい× → きれいな○)
Treating な-adj like い-adj (元気くない× → 元気じゃない○); Forgetting な before nouns; Misidentifying きれい as い-adj
この町は静かです。
This town is quiet.
静か(しずか, quiet) + です — な-adj, conjugates with copula
きれいな花ですね。
It's a pretty flower, isn't it?
きれい(pretty) + な(required before noun) + 花(はな, flower) — きれい is a な-adj despite ending in い!
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises