The 10 most useful Japanese Adjectives for Beginners
Learning Japanese can feel overwhelming at first, but knowing a few essential japanese adjectives can help you start expressing yourself right away. These basic words will allow you to describe things, talk about how you feel, and understand common expressions.
📻 Want to hear the pronunciation? Click here to download the audio files with native speaker recordings for each word.
10 Japanese Adjectives
1. おいしい (oishii) — Delicious
Use this word when talking about food or drinks. Example: これはおいしいです [kore wa oishii desu] This is delicious
2. あつい (atsui) — Hot
Can refer to weather or objects. Example: きょうはあついですね [kyô wa atsui desune] It’s hot today, isn’t it?
3. さむい (samui) — Cold (weather)
Example: けさはさむいですね [kesa wa samui desune] It’s cold this morning, right?
4. はやい (hayai) — Fast / Early
Example: あのおとこのこははやいです [ano otoko wa hayai desu] That boy is fast
5. おそい (osoi) — Slow / Late
Example: でんしゃはおそいですね [densha wa osoi desune] The train is late
6. たかい (takai) — Expensive / Tall
Example: このコートはたかいです [kono kôto wa takai desu] This coat is expensive
7. いそがしい (isogashii) — Busy
Example: あしたはいそがしいです [ashita wa isogashii desu] I’ll be busy tomorrow.
8. かんたん (kantan) — Easy
Example: このテストはかんたんでした [kono tesuto wa kantan deshita] This test was easy
9. むずかしい (muzukashii) — Difficult
Example: にほんごはむずかしいですね [nihongo wa muzukashii desune] Japanese is difficult, isn’t it?
10. たのしい (tanoshii) — Fun / Enjoyable
Example: にちようびはたのしいです [nichiyôbi wa tanoshii desu] Sundays are fun
🎓 How to practice
- Download the file and listen daily (click here)
- Write each adjective in hiragana.
- Practice saying one sentence with each adjective every day.
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