Home Lessons N5 Adjective Conjugation

Adjective Conjugation 形容詞の活用

N5

Japanese adjectives conjugate like verbs! There are two types: い-adjectives and な-adjectives, each with their own conjugation rules.

い-Adjectives (い形容詞)

End in い. Change the い to conjugate. Rule: い → く (for negatives), い → かった (for past).

FormJapaneseMeaning
Plain presentexpensive
Plain negativenot expensive
Plain pastwas expensive
Plain past negwas not expensive
Polite presentis expensive
Polite negativeis not expensive
Polite pastwas expensive
Polite past negwas not expensive
⚠️ Exception: いい (good)

いい does NOT follow the normal rule. When conjugating, it becomes : いい → よくない (not good), よかった (was good), よくなかった (was not good)

Common い-Adjectives

たかい
expensive
やすい
cheap
おおきい
big
ちいさい
small
ながい
long
みじかい
short
あたらしい
new
ふるい
old
あつい
hot (weather)
さむい
cold (weather)
おいしい
delicious
いい / よい
good (irregular!)

な-Adjectives (な形容詞)

Add な before a noun. Conjugate with だ/です endings (similar to nouns).

FormJapaneseMeaning
Plain presentconvenient
Plain negativenot convenient
Plain pastwas convenient
Plain past negwas not convenient
Polite presentis convenient
Polite negativeis not convenient
Polite pastwas convenient
Polite past negwas not convenient

Common な-Adjectives

べんり
convenient
しんせつ
kind
しずか
quiet
にぎやか
lively / bustling
ゆうめい
famous
たいせつ
important
げんき
healthy / energetic
すき
like / fond of
きらい
dislike
じょうず
skilled / good at

Quick Quiz

Conjugate the adjective in the specified form

Question 1 of 10
高い → polite negative