Happy Sunday Japanophiles,

herewith the 7th issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Last week, we discussed な adjectives, and now we’re tackling い adjectives.

Looking back, I probably should have started with い adjectives because they’re slightly easier but whatever!

Before we start, I wanted to talk about an anime I’ve been watching called, “Buddy Daddies”. Have you heard of it?

Upon first glance, you could easily dismiss this show as a SPY X FAMILY rip-off but no my friend, this show is built differently.

Firstly, I didn’t SPY X FAMILY because it was too ‘mellow’ for my liking.

I felt it needed more spice, more chili powder, and more exotic Mediterranean seasoning. I could see the appeal, but it wasn’t for me.

So, I quit after the 3rd episode and, for a while, had nothing to talk about with my friends who were all big fans of the show.

So, alone, I ventured yet again into the unforgiving streets of Crunchyroll and stumbled upon Buddy Daddies which was a much better experience in comparison and in my opinion.

It’s an anime about two assassins trying to raise a little girl.

Try the first episode and see if you like it.

Anyway, welcome to the intriguing world of:

い-adjectives

い-adjectives are one type of adjective in Japanese. Their main function is to describe nouns, and they can take different endings to change their meaning (From Tofugo.com).

For instance, a big cat is 大きい猫 (ookii neko), a beautiful painting is 美しい絵 (utsukushii e), and an interesting book is 面白い本 (omoshiroi hon).

The 〜い (i) ending that characterizes this type of adjective is just one of several possible endings. Each ending conveys various types of information, such as tense—present or past—and truth value—positive or negative.

This is the primary distinction between い-adjectives and な-adjectives, as the latter require an additional word (だ or です) to indicate tense and truth information.

い-ADJECTIVE STEM FORM

To fully grasp い-adjectives, it's crucial to identify their stem form. The stem form is the part of the adjective that remains constant, regardless of the ending it takes. Finding the stem form is usually straightforward—simply remove the ending to reveal the stem. Let's use the い-adjective 安い (yasui, cheap) as an example:

安い  →　安い  →　安
安かった →　安かった →　安
安くない →　安くない →　安

A FEW TRICKY STEM FORMS

Some い-adjectives have tricky stem forms, like 良い (ii, good).

This adjective can be written as 良い or よい without changing its meaning, although よい sounds more formal. When finding the stem form of 良い, remember that, except for the 〜い ending, 良 is always read as よ in standard Japanese:

良い　＝　ii or yoi

良かった　＝　only yokatta

良くない　＝　only yokunai

Thus, the stem form of いい is よ. This rule also applies to い-adjectives like かっこいい (kakkoii, cool), which includes 格好 (kakkou, appearance) and いい (good).

When conjugating かっこいい, always use よ as the stem of いい. For instance, the past tense form is かっこよかった (kakkoyokatta).

On the other hand, かわいい (kawaii, cute) does not contain いい, despite having two い characters at the end. Its kanji form is 可愛い, with only one い at the end. The first い is part of the reading of the kanji 愛 (ai). Therefore, it conjugates like any other い-adjective:

❌ かわよかった

⭕ かわいかった

Mixing this up is not cute, so be careful! 😉

Now that you understand the stem form, let's delve into the three main い-adjective endings: 〜い, 〜かった, and 〜くない. While there are other endings to learn, mastering these three is a great starting point.

PRESENT TENSE 〜い

To indicate the present tense, い-adjectives conclude with 〜い. This signifies that we are discussing a time in the present or the future, as Japanese lacks a distinct future tense. For instance:

今日は暑い。 Kyō wa atsui. Today is hot.

明日は暑い。 Ashita wa atsui. Tomorrow will be hot.

NEGATIVE 〜くない

To express negation, the ending 〜くない replaces 〜い in い-adjectives. For example, 面白い (omoshiroi, funny) becomes 面白くない (omoshirokunai, not funny):

その芸人は全然面白くない。 Sono geinin wa zenzen omoshirokunai. That comedian isn't funny at all.

面白くない芸人にはなりたくない。 Omoshirokunai geinin ni wa naritakunai. I don't want to become a not-funny comedian.

PAST TENSE 〜かった

To indicate the past tense, い-adjectives conclude with 〜かった. For example, 寒い (samui, cold) becomes 寒かった (samukatta, was cold):

昨日は寒かった。 Kinō wa samukatta. Yesterday was cold.

THE POSITION OF い-ADJECTIVES IN A SENTENCE

い-adjectives can be used in two positions to describe a noun: either at the very end of a sentence or directly before a noun.

AT THE END OF A SENTENCE

When placed at the end of a sentence, い-adjectives describe the subject of the sentence.

お母さんの料理はおいしい。 Okaasan no ryōri wa oishii. My mother's cooking is delicious.

In this sentence, the い-adjective おいしい (oishii, delicious) comes at the end of the sentence and describes the noun phrase お母さんの料理 (okaasan no ryōri, mother's cooking).

In Japanese, it's common to omit the subject of the sentence if it's clear from context. In such cases, the い-adjective still describes the subject, but you need to infer what that subject is.

おいしい！ Oishii! Delicious! Perhaps you've just taken the first bite of your mother's cooking and you say this to let her know how much you like it.

There's no need to explicitly state what is delicious because it's evident from the situation.

Unlike English, which requires a dummy subject like "this" or "it" in similar situations, Japanese doesn't need a subject for a sentence to be grammatically correct.

BEFORE A NOUN

Unlike な-adjectives, which need a particle to connect to a noun, い-adjectives can directly precede a noun without any particle. For example:

古い車 — furui kuruma — old car.

This combination can be used in any context where a noun would be used, such as the subject or object of a sentence:

As the Subject

古い車が安いですよ。 Furui kuruma ga yasui desu yo. Old cars are cheap.

As the Object

お父さんは古い車に乗っています。 Otōsan wa furui kuruma ni notte imasu. My father drives an old car.

BEYOND THE BASICS (BONUS)

Fun (and Useful) Facts About い-Adjectives

1. Historical Origin: い-adjectives were the first type of adjectives to appear in Japan, and they are predominantly wago, or native Japanese words. This origin explains why い-adjectives often relate to fundamental, "primal" concepts such as basic colors, emotions, temperature, flavor, and size. In contrast, more complex or modern concepts are typically expressed using な-adjectives, which were imported from China at a later time.

2. Closed Class: Like many native Japanese words, い-adjectives form a closed class, meaning that new additions to this category are rare. Despite this, new words occasionally emerge through the abbreviation of existing い-adjectives, preserving the original meaning. Examples of this phenomenon include キモい (from 気持ち悪い, meaning "gross"), ムズい (from 難しい, meaning "difficult"), and ハズい (from 恥ずかしい, meaning "embarrassing").

3. Formation from Loanwords: In rare cases, new い-adjectives are formed from loanwords, such as エモい (from the English word "emotion"). Primarily used by young Japanese speakers, エモい can describe anything that evokes strong emotions.

4. Colloquial or Slang: Whether derived from existing い-adjectives or formed from loanwords, these new い-adjectives are typically considered colloquial or even slang. This classification reflects their informal nature and usage among specific demographics within the Japanese language community.

The Difference Between い-Adjectives Ending in 〜い and 〜しい

い-adjectives can be broadly categorized into two types based on their endings: those ending in 〜い and those ending in 〜しい.

1. 〜い Endings: い-adjectives ending in 〜い, such as 暑い (atsui, hot), 高い (takai, high/expensive), and 青い (aoi, blue), typically describe physical characteristics like temperature, size, and color.

2. 〜しい Endings: い-adjectives ending in 〜しい, such as 楽しい (tanoshii, fun), 苦しい (kurushii, painful), and 悲しい (kanashii, sad), are often used for more personal, emotive, or "internal" characteristics.

   External Characteristics: Some 〜しい adjectives, like 美しい (utsukushii, beautiful), do describe external characteristics. However, their original meaning is often a personal emotion. For example, 美しい originally described the tender emotion felt towards something cute, which later evolved into its modern meaning of "beautiful."

〜しい Adjectives and Corresponding Verbs

Due to their personal and subjective nature, 〜しい adjectives are generally only suitable for describing our own feelings. For example, we can say 楽しい (tanoshii, fun) when we're enjoying ourselves, but not when describing someone else's enjoyment.

• Personal Description: 楽しい！ (Tanoshii!) - "It's fun!"

• Personal Experience: 形容詞の勉強、楽しい！ (Keiyōshi no benkyō, tanoshii!) - "Studying い-adjectives is fun (for me)!"

Many 〜しい adjectives have corresponding verbs, allowing us to discuss how others appear to be feeling. For instance, 楽しむ (tanoshimu, to have fun), 苦しむ (kurushimu, to suffer), and 悲しむ (kanashimu, to be sad).

If Mami seems to be having a great time studying い-adjectives, we would use 楽しむ rather than 楽しい:

• マミさん形容詞の勉強めっちゃ楽しんでるね！ (Mami-san keiyōshi no benkyō meccha tanoshinderu ne!) - "Mami's having a great time studying い-adjectives, isn't she!"

Since the adjective itself describes our own emotions, we can't use the adjective in its original form to describe Mami's emotions. Doing so would imply that it's the speaker who enjoys studying, not Mami:

• マミさん、形容詞の勉強めっちゃ楽しいね！ (Mami-san, keiyōshi no benkyō meccha tanoshii ne!) - "Mami, studying い-adjectives is great fun, isn't it!"

And it's important to note that there are other ways to modify い-adjectives to describe other people's feelings. Two common methods are 〜そう (sō, seems like) and 〜がる (garu, to show signs of).

1. 彼は疲れているそうです。 Kare wa tsukarete iru sō desu. It seems like he is tired.

2. 彼女は嬉しそうに笑っています。 Kanojo wa ureshisō ni waratte imasu. She is smiling happily.

3. 彼は怒っているようですが、本当にそうでしょうか。 Kare wa okotte iru yō desu ga, hontō ni sō deshō ka. It seems like he is angry, but is that really the case?

4. 子供たちは興奮している様子です。 Kodomotachi wa kōfun shite iru yōsu desu. The children seem to be excited.

5. 先生は驚いているように見えます。 Sensei wa odorokite iru yō ni miemasu. The teacher appears to be surprised.

6. 彼は寂しがっているようです。 Kare wa sabishigatte iru yō desu. He seems to be feeling lonely.

7. 彼女は幸せそうに微笑んでいる。 Kanojo wa shiawase sō ni hohoende iru. She is smiling happily.

8. 彼は興味があるように話しています。 Kare wa kyōmi ga aru yō ni hanashite imasu. He is speaking as if he is interested.

Thank you for making it this far and have a great Sunday people 😁!!!!