There are two different types of words that can be used to modify nouns and verbs. One group is much like what we would call an adjective but they can also modify verbs as well. We will refer to these as "dv". The other group can, in most cases, stand alone like a noun but can also be used to modify nouns and verbs. We will refer to these as "dn". All words in the "dv" group always end with い (i). No exceptions. This is placed in front of a noun in order to modify it. For example:
| 漢字 - Kanji | ひらがな - Hiragana | Romaji
(English Letters) | English Meaning |
| 赤い車 | あかいくるま | akai kuruma | red car |
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These words can be conjugated to form different tenses, modify verbs, etc. Here is how that is done:
| ひらがな - Hiragana | Romaji
(English Letters) | English Meaning |
| drop the い and add く | drop the "i" and add "ku" | modifies a verb (akaku natta -> became red)
(naru is the verb "to become") |
| drop the い and add くない | drop the "i" and add "kunai" | present tense negative (akakunai -> is not red) |
| drop the い and add かった | drop the "i" and add "katta" | past tense (akakatta -> was red) |
| drop the い and add くなかった | drop the "i" and add "kunakatta" | past tense negative (akakunakatta -> was not red)
(This one might take a little practice saying.) |
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It's not as easy to recognize a "dn" but I will point them out in the vocabulary lists. Sometimes you'll even find a "dn" that ends in い (i) (ex. kirei - pretty). As mentioned before, these words can, in most cases, be used by themselves like a noun (ex. shizen - nature). By adding a な (na) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a noun (ex. shizen na kankyou -> a natural environment). And by adding a に (ni) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a verb as an adverb (ex. shizen ni aruku -> to walk naturally).
Here's a list of some commonly used "dv" and "dn":
| 漢字 - Kanji | ひらがな - Hiragana | Romaji
(English Letters) | English Meaning |
| 赤い | あかい | akai (dv) | red |
| 黄色い | きいろい | kiiroi (dv) | yellow |
| 青い | あおい | aoi (dv) | blue |
| 黒い | くろい | kuroi (dv) | black |
| 白い | しろい | shiroi (dv) | white |
| 面白い | おもしろい | omoshiroi (dv) | interesting, funny |
| 暑い | あつい | atsui (dv) | hot |
| 寒い | さむい | samui (dv) | cold |
| 大きい | おおきい | ookii (dv) | big |
| 小さい | ちいさい | chiisai (dv) | small |
| 自然 | しぜん | shizen (dn) | nature |
| 綺麗 | きれい | kirei (dn) | pretty, clean |
| 失礼 | しつれい | shitsurei (dn) | rude |
| 静か | しずか | shizuka (dn) | quiet |
| 特別 | とくべつ | tokubetsu (dn) | special |
| 元気 | げんき | genki (dn) | in good spirits |
| 変 | へん | hen (dn) | weird, strange |
| 上手 | じょうず | jouzu (dn) | skillful |
| 親切 | しんせつ | shinsetsu (dn) | kind, nice |
| 素敵 | すてき | suteki (dn) | "cool", good looking
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