Minna no Nihongo - Unit 8 Overview

Minna no Nihongo - Unit 8 Overview

Unit 8 focuses on adjectives, describing places, things, and people. You will learn how to use both い-adjectives and な-adjectives to describe nouns, and how to form negative and past-tense adjectives. This unit also teaches basic sentence patterns to describe the state or condition of things and people.

1. Vocabulary (たんご)

This unit introduces various adjectives that describe people, places, and objects:

• いい / よい (ii / yoi) – good
• わるい (warui) – bad
• おおきい (ōkii) – big
• ちいさい (chiisai) – small
• あたらしい (atarashii) – new
• ふるい (furui) – old (not used for people)
• あつい (atsui) – hot (temperature, touch)
• さむい (samui) – cold (weather)
• つめたい (tsumetai) – cold (touch)
• むずかしい (muzukashii) – difficult
• やさしい (yasashii) – easy, kind
• たかい (takai) – expensive, tall, high
• やすい (yasui) – cheap
• ひくい (hikui) – low
• おもしろい (omoshiroi) – interesting, fun
• たのしい (tanoshii) – enjoyable
• しろい (shiroi) – white
• くろい (kuroi) – black
• あかい (akai) – red
• あおい (aoi) – blue
• きれいな (kirei na) – beautiful, clean
• しずかな (shizuka na) – quiet
• にぎやかな (nigiyaka na) – lively
• ゆうめいな (yūmei na) – famous
• しんせつな (shinsetsu na) – kind, friendly
• げんきな (genki na) – healthy, energetic

2. Grammar Points (ぶんぽう)

A. Using Adjectives

1. い-Adjectives:

   • い-adjectives end with い in their dictionary form, e.g., たかい (takai) – high/expensive.

2. な-Adjectives:

   • な-adjectives require な when modifying a noun, e.g., きれいな (kirei na) – beautiful, しずかな (shizuka na) – quiet.

Examples:

• たかい ほん。 (Takai hon.) – An expensive book.
• しずかな まち。 (Shizuka na machi.) – A quiet town.

B. Sentence Structure with Adjectives

1. Adjectives + Noun:
   • [Adjective] + [Noun].

Examples:

• これは おおきい いえです。 (Kore wa ōkii ie desu.) – This is a big house.
• にほんは きれいな くにです。 (Nihon wa kirei na kuni desu.) – Japan is a beautiful country.

2. Adjectives as Predicates:
   • [Subject] は [Adjective] です。

Examples:

• このへやは ひろいです。 (Kono heya wa hiroi desu.) – This room is spacious.
• かのじょは しんせつです。 (Kanojo wa shinsetsu desu.) – She is kind.

C. Negative Form of Adjectives

1. い-Adjectives:
   • Drop the final い and add くない to make the negative form.

Example:

• たかい (takai) → たかくない (takakunai) – not expensive.

2. な-Adjectives:
   • Simply add じゃありません or じゃないです for the negative form.

Example:

• しずかな (shizuka na) → しずかじゃありません (shizuka ja arimasen) – not quiet.

D. Past Tense of Adjectives

1. い-Adjectives:
   • Drop the final い and add かったです for the past tense.

Example:

• たかい (takai) → たかかったです (takakatta desu) – was expensive.

2. な-Adjectives:
   • Simply add でした for the past tense.

Example:

• しずかな (shizuka na) → しずかでした (shizuka deshita) – was quiet.

3. Example Sentences

1. あたらしい くるまは たかいです。 (Atarashii kuruma wa takai desu.) – The new car is expensive.
2. この ほんは おもしろいです。 (Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu.) – This book is interesting.
3. まちは にぎやかじゃありません。 (Machi wa nigiyaka ja arimasen.) – The town is not lively.
4. きのうは さむかったです。 (Kinō wa samukatta desu.) – Yesterday was cold.

4. Practice Sentences

• にほんは きれいな くにです。 (Nihon wa kirei na kuni desu.) – Japan is a beautiful country.
• この へやは ひろいです。 (Kono heya wa hiroi desu.) – This room is spacious.
• その えいがは おもしろかったです。 (Sono eiga wa omoshirokatta desu.) – That movie was interesting.
• あの ほんは おもしろくなかったです。 (Ano hon wa omoshiroku nakatta desu.) – That book was not interesting.

5. Summary

Unit 8 introduces い-adjectives and な-adjectives, focusing on how to use them to describe things, people, and places. It also covers the negative and past forms of adjectives. Practice using adjectives both as predicates and in modifying nouns to expand your descriptive abilities.