皆様, こんにちにゃあぁ！Welcome to Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online, a gentle excursion into Japanese language and culture from the comfort of your personal Internet-connected device. We’re your hosts, your guides to Japanese language and culture, Kiki and Koko! We’re here to give you the tools you need to traverse the beautiful forest that is Japanese language. But, as many forests, it can be twisting and turning with a path that may not be very clear to those first stepping in. We’re here to lead you down the path of learning Japanese language. Maybe you simply want to enjoy it from the outskirts, observing a smaller portion and getting a bit of enjoyment as well as a bit of mental exercise exploring somewhere new. Or, perhaps, you’re looking to eventually trek the entire forest on your own, jumping over foliage, climbing over creeks, and eventually scaling mountains. Either way, you’ll want to know the basics as well as Japanese words you’ll encounter often. However, we’re going to explore this subject of Japanese in a much more traditional setting, a traditional classroom setting. Yes, this lesson, we’ll be adding onto the last, a brand new mixtape with a similar theme. These adjectives will assist you in not only expanding your vocabulary, but solidifying the nouns in your memory over time.

So, if you haven’t already, this would be a great time to refer to the previous lessons to use them in conjunction with these new adjectives. Making more connections is certainly one useful part of learning these related adjectives, but these will also give you more opportunities to practise your vocabulary in real life scenarios. Items and scenarios you encounter often are great chances for learning. Each time you come in contact with the item or scenario, be sure to either say them to yourself, or refresh them in your memory. Be sure to return to check that you’re using the proper pronunciation, though, as it’s always quite easy to remember differently to its proper usage, and you wouldn’t want to memorise the incorrect pronunciation. However, we’ve also employed another useful memorisation method, this lesson, which should help you in future, as well.

Opposites | 反対

It’s Opposite Day! Well, not exactly, but any day can be opposite day when you’re learning adjectives! A great way to learn twice the vocabulary is to learn opposites. It will not only broaden your abilities, but it will allow for more mental connections to be made which will allow you to more effectively learn the material. We always mention that schemas are essential to language learning. You have to make connections and frameworks in order to solidify and actualise the concepts and vocabulary. Of course, teachers like us are there to guide you, but even still, it’s important to guide yourself. Though we’ll be there for you, it’s important to have self-study practices that will make your revising effective so you progress at your own pace, but efficiently.

Also, when you’re first starting out, it can be difficult to suss out which vocabulary words to learn first. Let’s say there’s a specific word you’d like to learn. Well, instead of only learning that one word, then down-the-line eventually stumbling upon the word again, you can organise your learning process by learning opposites.

If you’d like to practise your 疑問詞, gimonshi, question words, and expand your vocabulary, this question will be useful:

「○○」の反対は　何ですか。
「○○」の　はんたいは　なんですか。
「○○」no hantai wa nandesuka?
What is the opposite of 「＿」?

Or in a more scholarly terminology:

「○○」の反意語は　何ですか。
「○○」のはんいごは　なんですか。
「○○」no han’igo wa nandesuka?
What is the antonym of 「＿」?

When you quote a word, it becomes treated as a noun in this case, so no worries about adjective grammar when you’re asking questions like these. Though, that isn’t to say adjective grammar isn’t vital to the rest of your Japanese learning, of course.

Simple Survival Sentence Study

In the last language learning mixtape that we call a lesson, we suggested you work on your basic sentence structure as it relates to nouns. Though, you have as much time as you need to continue learning this, and there is no rush, this lesson, we’re suggesting you have a good look at adjective grammar. There’s some useful conjugation to be practised. We’ll give you some opposites, today, but that means you can work on connective te-forms and past tense adjectives. We want to give you all of the information you need to survive and thrive in Japanese language, but we also want to give you chances to step out of your comfort zone and push yourself a little further. Again, no need to rush, though, and if you do have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or even ‘tweet’ at us via @kikikokoNihonGO. And, if you ‘@’ us, we should hopefully see it, but if there’s any glitches in the Twitterverse where it doesn’t get to us, feel free to DM us or comment here, as we always do our best to help. But in the meantime, definitely do your best to revise with the lessons we have, and we’ll continue to provide new and useful learning tools in future.

Remember, you can always multitask by opening a lesson in a separate tab, window or device, then reference the current vocabulary in your main tab.

But, what would these vocabulary words be without knowing how to pronounce them? That’s why we have with us today, our good computer robot friend and quiz creator extraordinaire, QUIZBO™くん！(The ™ is silent)

Hello, there！僕、 QUIZBO™くんです！教室に関係ある名詞を覚えましょう  Let’s NihonGO!!

If you remember from previous instalments, this is a portable version, QUIZBO™ Mini, who lives here on the site. He’ll be here to help sound out these vocabulary words for you. You can click the sound ‘bytes’ as many times as you’d like, QUIZBO™ won’t mind. ( Get it, bytes? … Computer?  …We’ll stick to teaching Japanese. )

You can click the 「▶」button as many times as you like, day or night, and he’ll repeat them. Return when these vocabulary words come to mind so that you can keep your pronunciation in check. Though he’s a robot, he’s quite skilled at speaking human language. He’s lovely with tones, as well, and he will read each mora so you can spell it properly in kana.

Are you ready!? Let’s NihonGO!!

Basic Classroom Vocabulary | 基本的な教室の単語 | Adjectives | 形容詞

‼ご注意‼ Many of these words have multiple definitions, but to keep this streamlined, we’ve made sure to include the applicable definitions. Especially with these sort of vague adjectives, you’ll find many different contextual definitions and translations. Anyway! Onto the vocabulary!

楽しい【たのしい】Tanoshii

Fun / Enjoyable

このクラスは　楽しいですよね。
このくらすは　たのしいですよね。
kono kurasu wa tanoshii desuyo ne.
This class is fun, innit.

あのクラスは　あまり　楽しくないんだ・・・
あのくらすは　あまり　たのしくないんだ・・・
Ano kurasu wa amari tanoshikunai n da…
That class isn’t so fun…

つまらない【つまらない】Tsumaranai

Boring

これは　つまらない本です。
これは　つまらないほんです。
kore wa tsumaranai hon desu.
This is a boring book.

勉強するのは　つまらなくないです。
べんきょうするのは　つまらなくないです。
benkyou suru no wa tsumaranakunai desu.
Studying isn’t boring.

長い【ながい】Nagai

Long

この授業は長いですか。
このじゅぎょうは　ながいですか。
kono jyugyou wa nagai desuka.
Is this class long?

この授業は長くなりうります。
このじゅぎょうは　ながくなりうります。
kono jyugyou wa nagaku nariruimasu.
This class can be long.

短い【みじかい】mijikai※

Short

短い時間で読める本です。
みじかいじかんで　よめる　ほんです。
mijikai jikan de yomeru hon desu.
It’s a book that can be read in a short time.

その鉛筆は　短いです。
そのえんぴつは　みじかいです。
sono enpitsu wa mijikai desu.
The pencil is short.

※短い can be used for time and objects, but not people. Short people are 背が低い, se ga hikui, literally, ‘spine is low, ‘ but you use it as a noun phrase like ‘low-spined’ 

先の尖った【さきの　とがった】saki no togatta※

Sharp (-pointed)

先の尖った鉛筆です。
さきのとがったえんぴつです。
saki no togatta enpitsu desu.
It’s a sharp pencil.

このクレヨンは先が尖っていないです。
このくれよんは　さきがとがっていないです。
kono kureyon wa saki ga togatteinai desu.
This crayon isn’t sharp.

先の丸くなった【さきの　まるくなった】saki no marukunatta※

Dull (-tipped)

先の丸くなったクレヨンで描きにくいです。
さきの　まるくなったくれよんで　かきにくいです。
saki no maruku natta kureon de kakinikui desu.
It’s hard to draw with a dull crayon.

大丈夫です。シャープペンシルは　先が丸くなれない
だいじょうぶです。しゃーぷぺんしるは　さきが　まるくなれない
daijoubu desu. shaapu penshiru wa saki ga marukunarenai
It’s okay. Propelling pencils can’t get dull.

※These are technically verbs acting as nouns acting as adjectives. 先, saki, in this case refers to the end of a writing utensil.

大きい【おおきい】ookii

Big

このランドセルは大きいです。
このらんどせるは　おおきいです。
kono randoseru wa ookii desu.
This [randsell] backpack is big.

教室のテーブルは大きくないです。
きょうしつの　てーぶるは　おおきくないです。
kyoushitsu no teeburu wa ookikunai desu.
The table in the classroom isn’t big.

小さい【ちいさい】chiisai

Small

この机は　小さいです。
このつくえは　ちいさいです。
kono tsukue wa chiisai desu.
This desk is small.

遅い【おそい】osoi

Late

ビリー君は宿題が終わるのが　いつも遅いです。
びりーくんはしゅくだいがおわるのが　いつもおそいです。
biriikun wa shukudai ga owaru no ga itsumo osoi desu.
Billy always finishes his homework late.

教室のコンピューターは遅いよ。八十時代から？
きょうしつの　こんぴゅーたーはおそいよ。はちじゅうじだいから？
kyoushitsu no konpyuutaa wa osoi yo. hachijyuujidai kara?
The classroom computer is slow. (Is it) from the 80s?

早い【はやい】hayai

Early

日本で学校に通うなら早い方がいいです。
にほんで　学校にかようなら　はやいほうが　いいです。
nihon de gakkou ni kayou nara, hayai hou ga ii desu.
If you’re attending school in Japan, it’s better to be early.

正午って早くない。
しょうごって　はやくない。
shougo tte hayakunai.
Noon isn’t early.

厳しい【きびしい】kibishii

Strict / harsh

あの教師は　とっても　厳しいですよ。
あのきょうしは　とっても　きびしいですよ。
ano kyoushi wa TOTTEMO kibishii desu yo.
That teacher is VERY strict.

日本語の教師は　厳しくないです。
にほんごのきょうしは　きびしくないです。
nihongo no kyoushi wa kibishikunai desu.
The Japanese language teacher is not strict.

優しい【やさしい】yasashii

Kind / Gentle

僕の　先生は　とっても　優しいですよ。
ぼくの　せんせいは　とっても　やさしいですよ。
boku no sensei wa TOTTEMO yasashii desu yo.
My teacher is VERY kind.

あの　先生は　あんまりやさしくはないんだと　思います。
あのせんせいは　あんまり　やさしくはないんだとおもいます。
ano sensei wa anmari yasashiku wa nai nda to omoimasu.
I think that teacher isn’t very kind.

Well, well, well! It looks like we’ve introduced quite a few new vocabulary words, however we think this may be more than enough to study for now. We wouldn’t want to introduce an overwhelming amount of vocabulary. Even still, don’t feel the need to try to memorise these in one sitting. The point is to return and revise in order to properly absorb the vocabulary long-term. Use them in sentences, practise your grammar, and overall, have fun! However, if you’re simply an overachiever who enjoys just piling on the vocabulary, this is only ＳＩＤＥ Ａ of our adjective mixtape.  So, there will be more for you to learn in due time. Maybe you can write some practise sentences below in the comment section~! Feel free to try your best and don’t worry about making mistakes, as making mistakes is an important part of learning. And, no worries, we’ll do our best to help you if you make a mistake.

If you’re looking to begin or further your Japanese language skills, this would be a useful time to practise Reading and Writing~! The respective sentences will assist you in beginning to learn to read and write in Japanese. Literacy is an important skill in any language. But, be patient with yourself, as of course, this is an entirely different writing system, and it may take some getting used-to. We’ve been sure to pace the lessons to be sure that it’s not too much of a rush if you’ve been with us since the beginning. However, if you’re just joining now, don’t feel as though you’re behind. You can still check in on current lessons whilst returning to previous ones.

But, maybe you already had been following the lessons since the beginning, but couldn’t catch the latest because you may have lost track of the days of the week or you didn’t get to see when our content is usually, posted, or maybe you just want to start staying in the know, never missing out on anything again as of this moment forward! Stay up to date without even having to look at the calendar by subscribing to the Electronic Mailing List of Tomorrow, today, found usually at the bottom of the site page or the sidebar on desktop. You’ll get the latest tools and resources to surviving in Japanese language in straight to your inbox. That’s articles, videos, podcasts, and more.

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