Adjectives that link and change
Conjugations, Stage 1chunk 14 of 15Adjectives and the copula
What adjectives do inside a longer sentence: link (-kute / de), change (-ku naru), sit before a noun (na / no), set a condition (-kattara), and say how things look (-sou).
- -kute / deLinks descriptions (X and Y), or gives a reason.
- -ku naru / ni naruBecomes X; the -ku / ni part is also the adverb form.
- -i / na / no + nounDescribes a noun directly: an X thing.
- -kereba / -kattara / naraIf it's X.
- -souLooks X, judging by appearance.
Mix-ups -ku naru (becomes) vs -ku suru (makes it); stem + sou (looks) vs plain + sou da (I hear); ii → yokute, yoku, yosasou.
-kute / de
adjective te-formLinks descriptions (X and Y), or gives a reason.
Stringing descriptions: yasukute oishii (cheap and tasty). Also a reason: samukute nerenakatta (too cold to sleep).
Make it i-adjectives: drop -i, add -kute (takakute); ii → yokute. Na-adjectives and nouns: + de (kirei de, gakusei de). Verbs link with their te-form, as in the table (tabete, itte).
Don't join adjectives with to (yasui to oishii ✗); to only joins nouns.
| taberu | tabete | 食べて | |
|---|---|---|---|
| miru | mite | 見て | |
| kau | katte | 買って | |
| matsu | matte | 待って | |
| kaeru | kaette | 帰って | |
| nomu | nonde | 飲んで | |
| asobu | asonde | 遊んで | |
| kaku | kaite | 書いて | |
| oyogu | oyoide | 泳いで | |
| hanasu | hanashite | 話して | |
| iku | itte | 行って | |
| suru | shite | して | |
| kuru | kite | 来て |
ano mise, yasukute oishii yo
That place is cheap and tasty.
あの店、安くておいしいよ
ano omise wa yasukute oishii desu yo
That restaurant is cheap and good.
あのお店は安くておいしいですよ
Heard 5,679× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (1.5% of adjectives)Main list -kute / -de (Stage 1), de (Stage 1)
-ku naru / ni naru
becoming (-ku naru)Becomes X; the -ku / ni part is also the adverb form.
For changes: samuku natta, jouzu ni natta. The same -ku / ni form works as an adverb: hayaku, kirei ni.
Make it i-adjectives: drop -i, add -ku (takaku naru); ii → yoku naru. Na-adjectives and nouns: + ni (kirei ni naru, gakusei ni naru).
Polite -ku narimasu / ni narimasu
naru is for things that change; suru is for changing something yourself (heya o kirei ni suru = tidy the room).
| takai | takaku naru | 高くなる | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ii | yoku naru | よくなる | |
| kirei | kirei ni naru | きれいになる | |
| gakusei | gakusei ni naru | 学生になる |
kyuu ni samuku natta ne
It suddenly got cold, huh.
急に寒くなったね
kyuu ni samuku narimashita ne
It's suddenly turned cold, hasn't it.
急に寒くなりましたね
Heard 34,699× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (9.2% of adjectives)
-i / na / no + noun
before a nounDescribes a noun directly: an X thing.
Constantly, to describe things and people: takai mise, kirei na hito, gakusei no toki.
Make it i-adjectives go straight before the noun (takai hon, ii hito). Na-adjectives add na (kirei na hito). Nouns add no (gakusei no toki).
Some words end in -ei or -i but take na: kirei na, yuumei na, not kirei hito.
| takai | takai | 高い | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ii | ii | いい | |
| kirei | kirei na | きれいな | |
| gakusei | gakusei no | 学生の |
kinou, sugoku kirei na hito mita
I saw a really good-looking person yesterday.
昨日、すごくきれいな人見た
kinou, totemo kirei na hito o mimashita
Yesterday I saw a very beautiful person.
昨日、とてもきれいな人を見ました
Heard 47,154× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (29.7% of adjectives)
-kereba / -kattara / nara
adjective ifIf it's X.
Conditions about qualities: takakattara kawanai. yokattara (if you like) is a very common polite offer.
Make it i-adjectives: drop -i, add -kattara or -kereba (takakattara, takakereba); ii → yokattara, yokereba. Na-adjectives and nouns: + nara or dattara (kirei nara, gakusei dattara). Verbs use -tara, as in the table (tabetara, ittara).
yokattara is less 'if it's good' than 'if you'd like' (yokattara douzo = please, help yourself).
| taberu | tabetara | 食べたら | |
|---|---|---|---|
| miru | mitara | 見たら | |
| kau | kattara | 買ったら | |
| matsu | mattara | 待ったら | |
| kaeru | kaettara | 帰ったら | |
| nomu | nondara | 飲んだら | |
| asobu | asondara | 遊んだら | |
| kaku | kaitara | 書いたら | |
| oyogu | oyoidara | 泳いだら | |
| hanasu | hanashitara | 話したら | |
| iku | ittara | 行ったら | |
| suru | shitara | したら | |
| kuru | kitara | 来たら |
takakattara, betsu no mise ni shiyou
If it's expensive, let's go somewhere else.
高かったら、別の店にしよう
takakattara, betsu no omise ni shimashou
If it's expensive, let's try another place.
高かったら、別のお店にしましょう
Heard 757× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (0.20% of adjectives)
-sou
looks (adjective)Looks X, judging by appearance.
Reacting to what you see: oishisou! (looks good!), tanoshisou, genki sou.
Make it i-adjectives: drop -i, add sou (oishisou); ii → yosasou, nai → nasasou. Na-adjectives: + sou (genki sou). Verbs use the -masu stem, as in the table (tabesou, furisou).
Polite -sou desu
kawaisou means 'poor thing', not 'looks cute'. And plain form + sou da is hearsay: takai sou da = I hear it's expensive.
| taberu | tabesou | 食べそう | |
|---|---|---|---|
| miru | misou | 見そう | |
| kau | kaisou | 買いそう | |
| matsu | machisou | 待ちそう | |
| kaeru | kaerisou | 帰りそう | |
| nomu | nomisou | 飲みそう | |
| asobu | asobisou | 遊びそう | |
| kaku | kakisou | 書きそう | |
| oyogu | oyogisou | 泳ぎそう | |
| hanasu | hanashisou | 話しそう | |
| iku | ikisou | 行きそう | |
| suru | shisou | しそう | |
| kuru | kisou | 来そう |
waa, kore mecha oishisou!
Wow, this looks so good!
わあ、これめちゃおいしそう!
waa, totemo oishisou desu ne
Oh, that looks delicious.
わあ、とてもおいしそうですね
Heard 2,509× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (0.67% of adjectives)Main list -sou (Stage 4)