Japanese Adjective Order: Describing a Lovely Small Old Wooden Table
Learn the natural order of Japanese adjectives before a noun, focusing on opinion, size, age, and color, with examples like 'a lovely small old wooden table'.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
In Japanese, when you use more than one adjective to describe a noun, the order is not random. While English often follows a sequence like opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, Japanese has its own preferred order. This lesson teaches you how to arrange adjectives naturally before a noun, so you can say phrases like 'a lovely small old wooden table' correctly. You will learn the typical order and practice with common adjectives.
By the end, you can…
- order multiple adjectives before a noun in Japanese.
- describe objects using opinion, size, age, and color adjectives.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
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すてきな小さな古い木のテーブル
a lovely small old wooden table
Sutekina chīsana furui ki no tēburu
Combines opinion (すてきな), size (小さな), age (古い), and material (木の) before the noun テーブル.
かわいい小さな白い犬
a cute small white dog
Kawaii chīsana shiroi inu
Opinion (かわいい), size (小さな), color (白い) before 犬.
大きな新しい赤い車
a big new red car
Ōkina atarashii akai kuruma
Size (大きな), age (新しい), color (赤い) before 車.
美しい長い黒い髪
beautiful long black hair
Utsukushii nagai kuroi kami
Opinion (美しい), size/length (長い), color (黒い) before 髪.
便利な小さな古いパソコン
a convenient small old computer
Benrina chīsana furui pasokon
Opinion (便利な), size (小さな), age (古い) before パソコン.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
In Japanese, adjectives typically come before the noun they modify. When multiple adjectives are used, a common order is: opinion, size, age, color, material, then noun. For example: すてきな (opinion) + 小さな (size) + 古い (age) + 木の (material) + テーブル (noun). Note that な-adjectives (like すてきな) and い-adjectives (like 古い) both precede the noun, but な-adjectives take な when directly modifying. Material is often expressed with の, as in 木の (wooden).
When to use it
Use this order when you want to give a detailed description of a noun. It sounds natural and helps avoid confusion. For instance, if you say 古い小さなテーブル, it sounds less natural than 小さな古いテーブル. However, the order is not absolutely fixed; emphasis can change it. For example, if you want to stress the age, you might put 古い first: 古い小さなテーブル. But for neutral descriptions, follow the opinion-size-age-color-material order.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
あの店で、すてきな小さな古い木のテーブルを見つけました。
I found a lovely small old wooden table at that shop.Ano mise de, sutekina chīsana furui ki no tēburu o mitsukemashita.へえ、それはいいですね。色は何色ですか。
Oh, that's nice. What color is it?Hē, sore wa ii desu ne. Iro wa nani iro desu ka.明るい茶色です。とても気に入りました。
It's light brown. I really like it.Akarui chairo desu. Totemo ki ni irimashita.いいですね。私も古い家具が好きです。
That's nice. I also like old furniture.Ii desu ne. Watashi mo furui kagu ga suki desu.A little context goes a long way
In Japanese, the order of adjectives can be flexible, but the opinion-size-age-color-material order is a safe default. Japanese often uses の to connect material nouns, as in 木のテーブル (wooden table). Also, some adjectives like 大きな (big) and 小さな (small) are prenominal forms that must be followed by a noun; they cannot be used at the end of a sentence. Be mindful of politeness: in formal contexts, use です/ます forms.
One thing to watch for
Placing a color adjective before a size adjective, as in 赤い小さな車 (red small car).
Try this instead: The natural order is size before color: 小さな赤い車 (small red car). Similarly, opinion usually comes first: かわいい小さな赤い車 (cute small red car).
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1Arrange the adjectives in the correct order: 古い (old), 小さな (small), すてきな (lovely) + 家 (house).
Show a sample answer
すてきな小さな古い家
The order opinion (すてきな) → size (小さな) → age (古い) is natural. Other orders may be possible for emphasis, but this is the standard.
2Translate into Japanese: 'a big new white building'.
Show a sample answer
大きな新しい白い建物
Size (大きな) → age (新しい) → color (白い) before 建物. Note that 大きな is a prenominal adjective.
3Which is more natural: 黒い長い髪 or 長い黒い髪?
Show a sample answer
長い黒い髪
Size/length (長い) typically comes before color (黒い). Both can be understood, but 長い黒い髪 is more standard.
Remember the order: opinion, size, age, color, material. Practice with common adjectives to make your Japanese descriptions sound natural.
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