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i-adjectives and na-adjectives

The other day one of my students asked me if there are more i-adjectives than na-adjectives or vice-versa. I don’t know the answer but what I do know is that we often have two adjectives, one i-adjective and one na-adjective, which have quite a similar meaning.

 

I thought I might list some of them up today.

 

 

i-adjectives

na-adjectives

difficult

難しい

むずかしい

muzukashii

難解

なんかい

nankai

easy

易しい

やさしい

yasashii

容易

ようい

youi

簡単

かんたん

kantan

kind

優しい

やさしい

yasashii

親切

しんせつ

shinsetsu

beautiful

美しい

うつくしい

utsukushii

奇麗

きれい

kirei

quiet (person)

大人しい

おとなしい

otonashii

静か

しずか

shizuka

wise

賢い

かしこい

kashikoi

賢明

けんめい

kenmei

dangerous

危ない

あぶない

abunai

危険

きけん

kiken

amusing

楽しい

たのしい

tanoshii

愉快

ゆかい

yukai

 

I’m sure there are more. If you can think of any other pair, please write them in the comment section!

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