Grammar Info
N5 Lesson 4: 2/13

い-Adjective + (Noun)
Describing a noun

Structure
[い]Adjective + Noun

Examples:
かわい + 猫
新し + 車
+ 冬
Details
Part of Speech Expression
Word Type Independent Word
Register Standard
品詞 表現
単語の種類 自立語
使用域 一般
Information
In Japanese, almost any type of word can be attached to the beginning of a noun to modify the meaning, or describe the qualities of that noun. However, depending on the type of word used, conjugation rules will differ slightly.
For い-Adjectives, they are simply attached to the front of the noun in their standard (dictionary) form.
  • 早(はや)車(くるま)。
    A fast car.
  • 怖(こわ)先生(せんせい)。
    A scary teacher.
Caution
When identifying what an い-Adjective is, and what is not, remember that an い-Adjective’s い will always be outside of any kanji in the word.
面白(おもしろ)い - The い is outside the kanji, so it is definitely an い-Adjective.
綺麗(きれい) - The い is inside of the kanji, so it is definitely not an い-Adjective.
There are some, but very few exceptions.
嫌(きら)い - The い is outside of the kanji, but this is actually a な-Adjective.
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新(あたら)し車(くるま)
A new car
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可愛(かわい)女(おんな)子(こ)がいる
There is a cute girl.
notice that it is possible to describe Noun1のNoun2 phrases too!
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カッコい先輩(せんぱい)。
Cool senpai.
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