I can tell from a word's form how to make it negative — くないです or じゃないです — add a degree (とても, ちょっと, まあまあ, あまり…ないです), and answer the question 「どうですか」.
How to make each word negative — and to what extent
How to make each word negative — and to what extent
Goal of the lesson: pick the right negative at a glance and add a degree word: “very”, “a little”, “not very”.
How to choose: if the word ends in い, it's almost always an い-adjective, negative くないです. If it doesn't end in い, it's a な-adjective, negative じゃないです.
The exceptions are a closed list: きれい, ゆうめい, and きらい. They end in い but are な-adjectives. There are no others at this level, and the “(な)” tag in the word lists always tells you.
Degree: とても (“very”), ちょっと (“a little”), and まあまあ (“so-so”) go right before the adjective: 「このいすはとてもおおきいです。」
あまり (“not very”) goes only with a negative: 「このペンはあまりやすくないです。」 English “not very” is two words; Japanese has one, あまり, and the negative goes on the adjective. It's the same rule as あまり…ません for habits.
To ask for an opinion: 「～はどうですか。」 Answer with an adjective, not with はい or いいえ.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 「ひまくないです」 — ひま is a な-adjective.
• NOT 「ひろいじゃないです」 — ひろい is an い-adjective.
• NOT 「あまりきれいです」 — あまり needs a negative.
• NOT 「とてもたかくないです」 for “not very expensive” — say あまりたかくないです.
The two types side by side
Ends in い: an い-adjective; exceptions: きれい, ゆうめい, きらい.
| Form | い-adjective: たかい | な-adjective: べんり(な) |
|---|---|---|
| affirmative | たかいです | べんりです |
| negative | たかくないです | べんりじゃないです |
| question | たかいですか | べんりですか |
To what extent
The degree word goes right before the adjective.
| Word | Meaning | Used with | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| とても | very | with an affirmative | このケーキはとてもおいしいです。 |
| ちょっと | a little | with an affirmative | このだいどころはちょっとせまいです。 |
| まあまあ | so-so | with an affirmative | このコーヒーはまあまあおいしいです。 |
| あまり | not very | only with a negative | このこうえんはあまりにぎやかじゃないです。 |
Lesson notes
How to make each word negative — and to what extent
Goal of the lesson: pick the right negative at a glance and add a degree word: “very”, “a little”, “not very”.
How to choose: if the word ends in い, it's almost always an い-adjective, negative くないです. If it doesn't end in い, it's a な-adjective, negative じゃないです.
The exceptions are a closed list: きれい, ゆうめい, and きらい. They end in い but are な-adjectives. There are no others at this level, and the “(な)” tag in the word lists always tells you.
Degree: とても (“very”), ちょっと (“a little”), and まあまあ (“so-so”) go right before the adjective: 「このいすはとてもおおきいです。」
あまり (“not very”) goes only with a negative: 「このペンはあまりやすくないです。」 English “not very” is two words; Japanese has one, あまり, and the negative goes on the adjective. It's the same rule as あまり…ません for habits.
To ask for an opinion: 「～はどうですか。」 Answer with an adjective, not with はい or いいえ.
Common mistakes:
• NOT 「ひまくないです」 — ひま is a な-adjective.
• NOT 「ひろいじゃないです」 — ひろい is an い-adjective.
• NOT 「あまりきれいです」 — あまり needs a negative.
• NOT 「とてもたかくないです」 for “not very expensive” — say あまりたかくないです.