B is not A
10
此処は静かじゃないです。
It's not quiet here.
0
3
私は有名じゃないです。
I am not famous.
0
1
彼は親切じゃない人です。
He is a person who isn't gentle.
0
12
此処は安全じゃない場所です。
This is a place that's not safe.
0
6
彼は優しくないです。
He is not kind.
0
20
私は眠くないです。
I am not sleepy.
0
4
彼女は優しくない人です。
She is a person who is not kind.
1
6
此れは美味しくないケーキです。
This is a cake that is not delicious.
0
47
秋は暑くないので好きです。
I like autumn because it isn't warm.
0
1
あんなに怒るなんて彼らしくない。
It's unlike him to get so angry.
0
10
何時も正直で居ることは容易くない。
To be always honest is not easy.
0
3
此のテープレコーダーは新しくない。
This tape recorder is not new.
0
10
此の仕事は必ずしも易しくない。
This work is not necessarily easy.
0
13
此の問題は見かけ程難しくない。
This problem is not so difficult as it seems.
0
15
其の映画は原作程面白くない。
The movie is not so interesting as the original.
0
18
其の冗談は可笑しくない。
That joke isn't funny.
0
19
医者なら６桁の収入は珍しくない。
A six-figure income is not uncommon for physicians.
2
13
駅は此処から遠くない。
The station is not far from here.
0
6
科学は好きではありません。
I do not like science.
0
8
会社での彼の今後の展望は余り明るくない。
The prospects for his career at the company are not quite promising.
0
16
今は些とも嬉しくない。
I'm not in the least bit happy now.
0
12
最近の日本の政治は良くない。
Today's Japanese government is not doing well.
0
5
人をあざ笑うのは良くない。
It is not good to laugh at others.
0
5
父の冗談は面白くない。
Dad's jokes are not funny.
0
54
別に忙しくないので、遊ぼう。
I'm not really busy, so let's play.
0
4
此れは役に立つ本だし、その上、値段も高くない。
This is a useful book and, what is more, it is not expensive.
0
5
其れは新しくない。
It isn't new.
0
4
其の肉は味が良くない。
The meat tastes bad.
0
6
悪くない。生活費くらいは十分稼げるよ。
Not bad. I can earn a good enough living.
0
Getting the sentences
List
げんき（な）
げんきじゃない
What if you wanted to use an adjective in a negative sense (not new, not cute, not young, etc.)? You can conjugate them!
な-adjectives conjugate with the “suffix” じゃない.
Take the adjective げんき（な）(it means energetic).
To make it negative, you will drop the な and add じゃない.
げんき じゃない せんせい
きれい じゃない つくえ
You can then work with this adjective like normal (by placing it in front of a noun).
You can then work with this adjective like normal (by placing it in front of a noun).
So this is a “not” energetic (un-energetic) teacher.
This is a not-clean desk (a desk that is not clean).
These may sound awkward in English, but they are very natural to use in Japanese!
あたらしい
あたらしくない
かわいい
かわいくない
い-adjectives work in a slightly different way - instead of じゃない, they become negative using くない.
い-adjectives work in a slightly different way - instead of じゃない, they become negative using くない.
You will drop the final い when you add くない.
So あたらしくない is “not new”.
This is “not cute”.
いい →
よくない
There is only one irregular adjective in Japanese, and it is いい (good).
When いい conjugates, it acts as if it were よい、so in the negative, it becomes よくない.
よくない がくせい
あたらしくない いえ
かわいくない ねこ
Let’s see some examples with nouns.
Let’s see some examples with nouns.
This is a not-good student.
And this is a not-new house.
Lastly, a not-cute cat. (As if there was such a thing!)
ふるい → ふるくて
あおい → あおくて
すばらしい → すばらしくて
あおい → あおくて
すばらしい → すばらしくて
You’re doing great! Let’s tackle one more way of using adjectives.
You’re doing great! Let’s tackle one more way of using adjectives.
If you want to use two or more adjectives in succession (like a cute, famous, yellow cat), you will conjugate adjectives there too.
い-adjectives will drop the い like before, and add くて.
As mentioned before, いい will conjugate as if it were よい, becoming よくて.
ちいさくなくて
しずかじゃなくて
しずかじゃなくて
You can also use negative adjectives - な or い - the same way.
You can also use negative adjectives - な or い - the same way.
Just remove the い at the end and add くて!
ひま → ひまで
すてき → すてきで
いや → いやで
すてき → すてきで
いや → いやで
な-adjectives will conjugate by dropping the な and adding で.
な-adjectives will conjugate by dropping the な and adding で.
かわいくて、ゆうめいで、きいろい ねこ
This is a cute, famous, yellow cat!
This is a cute, famous, yellow cat!
Note that you do not change to the て・で form for the last adjective in the list.
Once you get these adjective spelling rules down, your sentences will get quite a nice boost!
Construction
(Elements in parentheses are optional.)
Basic Examples:
怖くない映画 (a not-scary movie)
綺麗じゃない部屋 (a not-clean room)
Where this grammar is found
Grammar usage notes
Nothing posted yet!
Questions/Discussion
Can I omit です when I use じゃない?
yes. The only thing です is adding is the politeness register. The copula is already there.
Why is it not きれいくない? Is it not an い adjective?
No, it isn’t….its a little deceptive, ending as it does with an “I” sound. But the people running the site can show you better than I can…#きれい
that's a na-adjective
I don't understand why my japan friend says that saying janai is a bit like shouting, so I should use nai instead... but every time I go on any app they use janai... so confusing....
Bunpro teaches しゃない as a condensed or spoken form of ではない. Not sure why renshuu buries that further down
In this case does the adjective have to come before the noun? I tried kore wa ega kowakunai desu, would this not be correct also?
How does it works when you have negative な adjectives in succession, does the じゃない turns to じゃなくて?
Why is it "B is not A" ? Wouldn't ここ(A) は しずか(B) じゃないです become "quiet is not here"
Discussion about this grammar
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