There are two main types of adjectives in Japanese, na-adjectives and i-adjectives.
な-adjectives[]
Let us begin with the simplest type of adjective, the na-adjective. This is simply a lexeme followed by the particle na. It inflects only for te-form, which is with the suffix -ni. The na is dropped if it is used as a predicate. Being so simple, new adjectives borrowed into Japanese are na adjectives. Examples include hansamu na 'handsome' and kirei na 'pretty'. They can be turned into adverbs by replacing the
い-adjectives[]
I-adjectives are slightly more complicated. They inflect for tense and affirmation. The following table demonstrates how they do this:
Affirmative Present=-i
Affirmative Past=-katta
Negative Present=-kunai
Negative Past=-kunakatta
Te-form=-ku
Adverb=-