Adjectives in Japanese
There are two types of adjectives (big, small, new, old, etc.) in Japanese: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. The majority of adjectives are i-adjectives and they are introduced in Lesson 5 of Essential Japanese. Na-adjectives are introduced in Intermediate Japanese.
In a nutshell, i-adjectives are called i-adjectives because they end with the sound i; na-adjectives are called na-adjectives because な na shows up when followed by a noun.
For example:
- i-adjectives
かわいいねこ kawaii neko (cute cat)
おいしいすし oishii sushi (delicious sushi)
- na-adjectives
しずかなオフィス shizuka na ofisu (quiet office)
ゆうめいなビル yuumee na biru (famous building)
The adjectives おおきい ookii (big) and ちいさい chiisai (small) are always among the first i-adjectives introduced in any Japanese language textbook, our Essential Japanese included.
However, a less known fact is that they can be used as na-adjectives too.
So 'big dog' can be either one of the following:
おおきいいぬ ookii inu
おおきないぬ ooki na inu
'small dog' can be either one of the following:
ちいさいいぬ chiisai inu
ちいさないぬ chiisa na inu
There's really no difference in meaning. They can be used interchangeably.
Usually, a Japanese adjective is either i-adjective or na-adjective; one or the other. So, 'big' and 'small' are really the rare exceptions.
Since they are commonly used adjectives, it's good to remember this!