Japanese Grammar 15 – な-Adjectives · N5

📋 Formation Reference — な-Adjectives

How to conjugate and use な-adjectives. Press ▶ to hear examples.

CONJUGATION FORMS

Form	Rule	Example (しずか)
Present ✓	[adj] desu	しずかです shizuka desu
Present ✗	[adj] ja nai desu	しずかじゃないです shizuka ja nai desu
Past ✓	[adj] deshita	しずかでした shizuka deshita
Past ✗	[adj] ja nakatta desu	しずかじゃなかったです shizuka ja nakatta desu
+ Noun	[adj] na + noun	しずかなへや shizuka na heya
Connecting	[adj] de	しずかできれいな shizuka de kirei na
Adverb	[adj] ni	しずかにはなす shizuka ni hanasu

COMMON な-ADJECTIVES

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
しずか	shizuka	quiet
にぎやか	nigiyaka	lively, bustling
きれい	kirei	pretty, clean (な-adj!)
ゆうめい	yuumei	famous (な-adj!)
げんき	genki	energetic, healthy
じょうず	jouzu	good at (skill)
かんたん	kantan	easy, simple
べんり	benri	convenient

🗣 Example Sentences

See how な-adjectives work in context. Press ▶ to hear each sentence.

BASIC USAGE

Example

このまちはしずかです。

Kono machi wa shizuka desu.

This town is quiet.

このまちはしずかです

kono machi wa shizuka desu

→ "This town is quiet."

Example

にほんごはかんたんじゃないです。

Nihongo wa kantan ja nai desu.

Japanese is not easy.

Example

きのうはひまでした。

Kinou wa hima deshita.

I was free yesterday.

Example

かのじょはりょうりがじょうずです。

Kanojo wa ryouri ga jouzu desu.

She is good at cooking.

な BEFORE A NOUN

Example

きれいなはなですね。

Kirei na hana desu ne.

That's a pretty flower, isn't it?

[な-adj] な [noun]

kirei na hana

→ "pretty flower"

Example

このアプリはべんりです。

Kono apuri wa benri desu.

This app is convenient.

CONNECTING & ADVERB FORMS

Example

しずかできれいなこうえんです。

Shizuka de kirei na kouen desu.

It's a quiet and pretty park.

Example

げんきになりました。

Genki ni narimashita.

I got better / became healthy.

📋 Quick-Reference Cheatsheet ▼

な before a noun — always add な

✅ CORRECT

しずかなへや

shizuka na heya

a quiet room

な-adjectives need な when modifying a noun.

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

しずかへや

shizuka heya

intended: "a quiet room"

Dropping な sounds unnatural — な is required.

Connecting two adjectives — use で (not くて)

✅ CORRECT

しずかできれいなこうえん

shizuka de kirei na kouen

a quiet and pretty park

な-adj connect with で, not くて (that's for い-adj).

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

しずかくてきれいなこうえん

shizukakute kirei na kouen

intended: "a quiet and pretty park"

くて is the い-adjective connector — do not use with な-adj.

Trap: きれい, ゆうめい, きらい are な-adjectives

✅ CORRECT

きれいなはな

kirei na hana

a pretty flower

Even though they end in い, these are な-adj — add な before nouns.

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

きれいいはな

kireii hana

intended: "a pretty flower"

Treating きれい as an い-adj is a very common error. Use きれいな.

Adverb form — [adj] に

✅ CORRECT

しずかにはなす

shizuka ni hanasu

to speak quietly

Add に to the plain な-adj to form an adverb.

❌ COMMON MISTAKE

しずかくはなす

shizukaku hanasu

intended: "to speak quietly"

く is the い-adj adverb ending. な-adj use に.

A — Flashcards

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B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

📖 Grammar Deep Dive ▼

Why な-adjectives behave like nouns

Historically, な-adjectives were nouns. The な you see before a noun is actually a contracted form of である (de aru), the classical copula. This is why they conjugate exactly like nouns with だ/です rather than changing their own ending like い-adjectives do. • Think: しずか is the noun "quietness" → しずかなへや = "a room of quietness".

[な-adj] です / だ / でした / じゃない

[adj] desu / da / deshita / ja nai

→ Conjugate the copula, not the adjective itself.

げんきです。 / げんきでした。

Genki desu. / Genki deshita.

I am healthy. / I was healthy.

How to tell い-adj from な-adj when unsure

Most adjectives ending in い are い-adjectives — but not all. The key exceptions to memorise are: • きれい (pretty), ゆうめい (famous), きらい (dislike), きらい, ひつよう (necessary), じゆう (free/freedom). • A reliable test: try adding な before a noun. If it sounds natural and is accepted, it's a な-adjective. Also, な-adj in dictionary form never change their ending, while い-adj drop い → く for adverbs.

きれいなひと (na-adj) vs. たかいやま (i-adj)

kirei na hito vs. takai yama

a pretty person vs. a tall mountain

Mixing い-adj and な-adj in one noun phrase

When you chain an い-adjective and a な-adjective together before a noun, each type uses its own connector: • い-adj → drop い, add くて • な-adj → add で • The final adjective before the noun uses its normal pre-noun form (い or な).

[い-adj] くて [な-adj] な [noun]

ookiku te shizuka na heya

→ "a big and quiet room"

おおきくてしずかなへやがすきです。

Ookikute shizuka na heya ga suki desu.

I like big, quiet rooms.

Adverb form: [な-adj] に

To turn a な-adjective into an adverb (describing how an action is done), simply add に after the plain adjective form. This is equivalent to adding -ly in English. • しずかに → quietly • かんたんに → easily • きれいに → neatly / prettily • げんきに → energetically / healthily

[な-adj] に [verb]

shizuka ni hanasu

→ "to speak quietly"

かんたんにせつめいしてください。

Kantan ni setsumei shite kudasai.

Please explain it simply.

じょうず / へた + が — always use が

With じょうず (good at) and へた (bad at), the skill or subject always takes が, not は. This differs from English where we say "good AT cooking" — Japanese uses が to mark the skill as the object of the adjective. • にほんごがじょうずです = skilled in Japanese • りょうりがへたです = bad at cooking

[person] は [skill] がじょうず / へたです

[person] wa [skill] ga jouzu / heta desu

→ "[person] is good/bad at [skill]."

かれはえがじょうずです。

Kare wa e ga jouzu desu.

He is good at drawing.

📝 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	English
しずか	shizuka	quiet
にぎやか	nigiyaka	lively, bustling
きれい	kirei	pretty, clean
ゆうめい	yuumei	famous
げんき	genki	energetic, healthy
すき	suki	liked, favourite
きらい	kirai	disliked
じょうず	jouzu	good at (skill)
へた	heta	bad at (skill)
かんたん	kantan	easy, simple
べんり	benri	convenient
ひま	hima	free (not busy)