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I adjective

I adjectives are Japanese words which can be conjugated like verbs and act as either adjectives or adverbs. I adjectives can also come at the end of sentences, exactly like true verbs.

Examples

Adjective (rōmaji) Adjective Meaning
akai あかい  red
kowai こわい scary
muzukashii むずかしい difficult
atarashii あたらしい  new
furui ふるい  old
kawaii かわいい  cute
All i adjectives end in ai, ii, ui or oi. There are none ending in ei. Not all words ending in i are i adjectives. Kirai, "dislike", for example, is a na adjective. Some words can be both i adjectives and na adjectives, such as ōkii and ōki na.

Many i adjectives end in shii, particularly adjectives related to human emotions such as
Adjective (rōmaji) Adjective Meaning
tanoshii 楽しい enjoyable
kanashii 悲しい sad
muzukashii 難しい difficult