How to make nouns from adjectives in Japanese, explained

How to make nouns from adjectives in Japanese

Japanese people make nouns from adjectives by using the suffixes, “sa” and “mi”. These can work in very similar ways that English suffixes like “-ness”, “-tion”, and the like do. In this blog post, I will explain how to use them to make nouns from adjectives in Japanese. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Japanese suffixes: “sa” and “mi”
• “Sa” after i-adjectives
• “Sa” after na-adjectives
• “Mi” after i-adjecitves
• “Mi” after na-adjectives
• Summary

Japanese suffixes: “sa” and “mi”

Let me start the the definitions of “sa” and “mi”.

• sa – さ : a suffix used after an adjective to make its noun form. Originally this suffix came from the word, “sama”, which means ‘state’, ‘appearance’, or ‘degree’ in Japanese. This can work with almost all Japanese adjectives.
• mi – み : a suffix used after an adjective to make its noun form. Originally this suffix came from the word, “mi”, which means ‘taste’ in Japanese. This is less flexible than “sa”; this works with some particular adjectives.

As mentioned above, “sa” is more flexible and can work with almost all adjectives. So, first you should focus on it and ignore the other one for a while. After mastering the use of “sa”, you should gradually shift the focus to “mi”. To tell the truth, nouns made of “sa” often have different nuances from those made of “mi”. So, “mi” is also worth learning.

In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain how to use these two suffixes to make nouns from adjectives.

“Sa” after i-adjectives

Let me start with “sa” and i-adjectives. Again, but it is a suffix. So we need to use it after an i-adjective which we want to change to its noun form. Like in English, however, we have to take care of their connection. To make the connection smooth and natural, we have to omit the last “i” vowel of the i-adjecitve. So, technically, what we need to do to make a noun from an i-adjective is replace the last “i” vowel of the i-adjective with “sa”. Let me show examples as follows:

• kanashii – 悲しい (かなしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘sad’ in Japanese.
• kanashisa – 悲しさ (かなしさ) : a noun meaning ‘sadness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “kanashii”.
• oishii – 美味しい (おいしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘delicious’ in Japanese.
• oishisa – 美味しさ (おいしさ) : a noun meaning ‘deliciousness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “oishii”.
• kawaii – 可愛い (かわいい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cute’ in Japanese.
• kawaisa – 可愛さ (かわいさ) : a noun meaning ‘cuteness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “kawaii”.

As shown here, the last “i” vowel of each i-adjective is replaced with “sa” to make the corresponding noun form. When we want to make nouns from i-adjectives in Japanese, all we need to do is replace the last “i” vowel with “sa”.

“Sa” after na-adjectives

Next, let me explain how to make nouns from na-adjectives with “sa”. It’s very similar to the way to make nouns from i-adjectives. All we need to do is replace the last “na” sound with “sa”. Let me show examples as follows:

• shoujikina – 正直な (しょうじきな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘honest’ in Japanese.
• shoujikisa – 正直さ (しょうじきさ) : a noun meaning ‘honesty’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “shoujikina”.
• kireina – 綺麗な (きれいな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘beautiful’ in Japanese.
• kireisa – 綺麗さ (きれいさ) : a noun meaning ‘beauty’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “kireina”.
• taisetsuna – 大切な (たいせつな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘important’ in Japanese.
• taisetsusa – 大切さ (たいせつさ) : a noun meaning ‘importance’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “taisetsuna”.

As shown here, the last “na” sound of each na-adjective is replaced with “sa” to make the corresponding noun form. When we want to make nouns from na-adjectives in Japanese, all we need to do is replace the last “na” sound with “sa”.

“Mi” after i-adjecitves

Next, let me explain how to make nouns from i-adjectives with “mi”. It’s similar to the other ways explained above. All we need to do is replace the last “i” vowel with “mi”. Let me show examples as follows:

• amai – 甘い (あまい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘sweet’ in Japanese.
• amami – 甘み (あまみ) : a noun meaning ‘sweetness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “amai”.
• nigai – 苦い (にがい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bitter’ in Japanese.
• nigami – 苦み (にがみ) : a noun meaning ‘bitterness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “nigai”.
• yowai – 弱い (よわい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘weak’ in Japanese.
• yowami – 弱み (よわみ) : a noun meaning ‘weakness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “yowai”.

As shown here, the last “i” vowel of each i-adjective is replaced with “mi” to make the corresponding noun form. When we want to make nouns from na-adjectives in Japanese, all we need to do is replace the last “i” vowel with “mi”.

“Mi” after na-adjectives

Lastly, let me explain how to make nouns from na-adjectives with “mi”. All we need to do is replace the last “na” sound with “mi”. Let me show an example as follows:

• shinsen’na – 新鮮な (しんせんな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘fresh’ in Japanese.
• shinsenmi – 新鮮み (しんせんみ) : a noun meaning ‘freshness’ in Japanese. This is considered as the noun form of “shinsen’na”.

As shown here, the last “na” sound of the na-adjective is replaced with “mi” to make its noun form. When we want to make nouns from na-adjectives in Japanese, all we need to do is replace the last “na” sound with “mi”. Honestly speaking, however, almost all na-adjectives cannot work well together with this suffix. This is why I took only one example above. So, Japanese learners can consider this case as a very special usage, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained how to make nouns from adjectives in Japanese. Let me summarize them as follows.

• sa – さ : a suffix used after an adjective to make its noun form. Originally this suffix came from the word, “sama”, which means ‘state’, ‘appearance’, or ‘degree’ in Japanese. This can work with almost all Japanese adjectives.
  • When we want to make nouns from i-adjectives with “sa”, all we need to do is replace the last “i” vowel with “sa”.
  • When we want to make nouns from na-adjectives with “sa”, all we need to do is replace the last “na” sound with “sa”.
• mi – み : a suffix used after an adjective to make its noun form. Originally this suffix came from the word, “mi”, which means ‘taste’ in Japanese. This is less flexible than “sa”; this works with some particular adjectives.
  • When we want to make nouns from i-adjectives with “mi”, all we need to do is replace the last “i” vowel with “mi”.
  • When we want to make nouns from na-adjectives with “mi”, all we need to do is replace the last “na” sound with “mi”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.