Long in Japanese: nagai, explained with its major conjugations

How to say “long” in Japanese

Japanese native speakers would say “nagai” to mean ‘long’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this word with its major conjugations. And also I will explain how to use them through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “nagai”
  • Example #1: how to say “long” in Japanese
• Nai form of “nagai”
  • Example #2: how to say “not long” in Japanese
• Ta form of “nagai”
  • Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “nagai”
• Te form of “nagai”
  • Example #4: how to use “nagai” before another adjective
• Ba form of “nagai”
  • Example #5: how to use “nagakereba”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “nagai”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “nagai”.

• nagai – 長い (ながい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘long’ in Japanese.

Its definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it though the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “long” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this particle is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• kage – 影 (かげ) : a noun meaning ‘shadow’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun meaning ‘shadows’. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “watashi no kage”, to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “nagai”. When we want to say “long” in Japanese, this word would be the best choice. In this example, it works as a complement. Like other adjectives, however, it can also work as a modifier before a noun. So, we can say “watashi no nagai kage” to mean ‘my long shadow’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain major conjugations of “nagai”. The first one is “nagakunai”.

Nai form of “nagai”

Below are the definition and meaning of “nagakunai”.

• nagakunai – 長くない (ながくない) : the nai form of “nagai”, meaning ‘not long’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this nai form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• nagaku – 長く (ながく) : one conjugation of “nagai”. This can have the better connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb or adjective to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.

From these two components, we can understand that “nagakunai” literally means ‘not long’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “not long” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• natsu – 夏 (なつ) : a noun meaning ‘summer’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to limit the meaning of its following word with the meaning of its preceding word based on relations like possessing and belonging. In the example, it is used to limit the meaning of “kage” with the meaning of “natsu”. The formed phrase, “natsu no kage”, has been translated as ‘the shadows in summer’.

This is a typical usage of “nagakunai”. When we want to say “not long” in Japanese, this nai form would be the best choice.

Ta form of “nagai”

Below are the definition and meaning of “nagakatta”.

• nagakatta – 長かった (ながかった) : the ta form of “nagai”, working as its past tense form. So this means ‘was long’ or ‘were long’ in Japanese.

Grammatically this ta form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• nagakat – 長かっ (ながかっ) : one conjugation of “nagai”. This can have the better connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb or adjective to make its ta form.

From these two components, we can understand that “nagakatta” is literally the ta form of “nagai”. In Japanese, ta forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their past tense forms. So, we can say “nagakatta” to mean ‘was long’ or ‘were long’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to use the past tense form of “nagai”

This is a typical usage of “nagakatta”. When we want to say “was long” in Japanese, this ta form would be the best choice.

Te form of “nagai”

Below are the definition and meaning of “nagakute”.

• nagakute – 長くて (ながくて) : the te form of “nagai”.

Grammatically this te form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• nagaku – 長く (ながく) : one conjugation of “nagai”. This can have the better connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb or adjective to make its te form.

A te form of an adjective can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. So, “nagakute” is very useful when we want to use adjectives in a row. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to use “nagai” before another adjective

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• kurai – 暗い (くらい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘dark’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “nagakute”. In the example, it has the smooth connection with the i-adjective, “kurai”. When we want to use “nagai” before another adjective or a verb, its te form is very useful.

Ba form of “nagai”

Below are the definition and meaning of “nagakereba”.

• nagakereba – 長ければ (ながければ) : the ba form of “nagai”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘long’.

Grammatically this ba form can be broken down into the following two parts:

• nagakere – 長けれ (ながけれ) : one conjugation of “nagai”. This can have the better connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb or adjective to make its ba form.

In Japanese, ba forms of verbs and adjectives can work as their conditional forms. So, “nagakereba” can work to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘long’. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to use “nagakereba”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kami – 髪 (かみ) : a noun meaning ‘hair’ in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kami” to make the subject word in the conditional clause.
• tabane – 束ね (たばね) : one conjugation of the verb, “tabaneru”, which means ‘to tie’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : the same as used in “nagakute”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “kudasai”.
• kudasai – 下さい (ください) : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this conjugation is used after a te-formed verb, however, it can work as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’.

This is a typical usage of “nagakereba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause which means ‘if your hair is long’. When we want to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘long’ in Japanese, this ba form is very useful.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the i-adjective, “nagai”, and its major conjugations with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• nagai – 長い (ながい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘long’ in Japanese. This can work as both a modifier and a complement.
• nagakunai – 長くない (ながくない) : the nai form of “nagai”, meaning ‘not long’ in Japanese.
• nagakatta – 長かった (ながかった) : the ta form of “nagai”, working as its past tense form. So this ta form means ‘was long’ or ‘were long’ in Japanese.
• nagakute – 長くて (ながくて) : the te form of “nagai”. This can have a smooth connection with another adjective or a verb. This is useful when we want to use adjectives in a row.
• nagakereba – 長ければ (ながければ) : the ba form of “nagai”, used to make a conditional clause with the meaning of ‘long’.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.