Search from various English teachers...
cocara
What's the difference between "na" and "no" adjectives?
I've noticed that when I look on an English to Japanese dictionary, some adjectives are labeled as "no" and "na". What exactly is the difference between these two? Thanks for your help in advance; much appreciated. :3
May 10, 2015 9:15 AM
Answers · 3
3
A ''の-adjective'' is really a noun which you are turning into an adjective by putting ''の'' after it. (:
な-adjectives are more common adjectives. So often a noun that is used as an adjective often enough is a ''なadjective'' in the dictionary.
Example:
na-adjective:
きれいな木 - a beautiful tree
''no''-adjective:
永遠の愛 - eternal love (lit. love of eternity - 永遠 (eternity) is being used as an adjective by adding の)
I hope that makes sense! <33
May 10, 2015
Basically, there is no such thing as の-adjective. It's a noun that can be modified to adjectives in the English language. When you run into words that can take either な or の, they are called adjectival nouns.
の is used when you need to label or categorize a noun, while な is used when you want to describe a noun.
田中さんは普通のサラリーマンだ。
田中さんは普通なサラリーマンだ。
Both means 'he is an ordinary salaryman', but when we use の, we’re not actually describing the quality of Tanaka-san. Instead, 普通の (adjectival noun) acts as a category the the slaryman.
On the other hand, 普通な (adjective) offers a description of Tanaka-san's own personality or character (that has nothing to do with him being a salaryman).
We've made a more detailed post about it, too. Hope this helps! https://cotoacademy.com/%E3%81%AA-adjectives-and-%E3%81%AE-adjectives/
January 26, 2022
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
cocara
Language Skills
English, Japanese
Learning Language
Japanese
Articles You May Also Like

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
9 likes · 7 Comments

How to Sound Confident in English (Even When You’re Nervous)
12 likes · 9 Comments

Marketing Vocabulary and Phrases for Business English Learners
7 likes · 2 Comments
More articles