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Lesson 15: She's quiet.
Click here for the kana version.
| This lesson is a continuation of the previous lesson about adjectives. There are two types of adjectives in Japanese. Lesson 14 deals with 'i' adjectives. 'I' adjectives are also called 'true' adjectives. This lesson will introduce the 'na' adjectives. Na adjectives are not considered adjectives in Japanese (although in English they are in fact adjectives). This is because they are formed from nouns. 'I' adjectives have an extra 'i' at the end which can be used to modify their form. Na adjectives usually do not have the 'i' ending and must be followed by na if they come in front of a noun. | |
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Examples: shizuka (na) |
quiet |
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The " noun wa adjective
desu :=: noun is adjective" pattern still holds true for na adjectives. |
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| Examples: Kanojo wa shizuka desu. |
She's quiet. |
| Neko wa genki desu ne. | The cat is energetic isn't it? |
| Kono hon wa kantan desu. | This book is simple. |
| Na adjectives differ from i adjectives when they come before a noun. In this case they require na to be added to the end of the word. |
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Examples: hen na hon |
strange book |
| kirei na uchi | clean house |
| suteki na enpitsu | cool pencil |
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Kono hen na neko wa kare no desu ka. |
Is this strange cat his? |
| Kono kantan na hon wa suteki desu ne. | This simple book is nice isn't it? |
A note about the words kare and kanojo: Although they are the words for him and her, they are also used for the words boyfriend and girlfriend. So, if someone says 'I lived with her' and they are not referencing a specific woman they probably mean 'I lived with my girlfriend'. |
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Lesson 15 Vocabulary: shizuka (na) kanojo |
quiet she/her/girlfriend |