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How to Make Your Japanese Sound More Natural!

Haru.Haru

Hello everyone! My name is Haru.
 
While I am new to Cafetalk, I have been teaching Japanese on other platforms for some time. Through my experience, I’ve noticed a common point that many beginners struggle with: the negation of "i-adjectives."
 
Do you ever say "kawaii-janai" when you mean "it’s not cute"?
 
Actually, for "i-adjectives," it’s simple: just remove the final "i" and add "-kunai."
 
Examples:
 
Oishii (delicious) → Oishi + kunai = Oishikunai (not delicious)
 
Omoshiroi (interesting) → Omoshiro + kunai = Omoshirokunai (not interesting)
 
Tanoshii (fun) → Tanoshi + kunai = Tanoshikunai (not fun)
 
Kawaii (cute) → Kawai + kunai = Kawaikunai (not cute)
 
If you want to be polite, just add "desu" at the end: "Oishikunai desu."
 
In my lessons, please don’t worry about making mistakes!
They are a vital step toward fluency. Let’s keep speaking and enjoy learning together!
 
I look forward to talking with you soon.

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This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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