形容詞

[qiziq]

I have been spending a lot of time since my last post studying the usage of Japanese 形容詞 in sentences where so often the subject and/or object of the sentence is not expressed. Musings:

There seem to be no rules, other than the meaning of the 形容詞 and how it plays into the way the Japanese think about it. Whereas 楽しい (which I posted about previously) seems to insist on a person for the subject of the sentence, other, seemingly similar, 形容詞 are much more flexible.

I see 私は本がおもしろい
And I see この本はおもしろい
I see 卵はきらいです
And I see すしがきらいです

And what, exactly, is the subject to be supplied in a sentence like もう暗いだ ? In English, we are used to providing pronouns such as "it," as the subject, but not sure what you would actually verbalize there in Japanese. I know you could say 外はも暗いです, but if you were already outside, that wouldn't make sense. Weather is probably a little problematic in any language.

And then there is the classic line 春は曙. It seems to me that the 形容詞 (think verb form) is being left out of this sentence! I suspect that the full sentence would read something like 春は曙が美しい. How do you talk without verbs?! Ha.

I suspect that the average Japanese would look at me as if to ask "What's your point?" For anybody who speaks the Romantic languages, it's all about syntax. I suspect that for the Japanese, it is more about semantics. Am I wrong?

p.s. Most of the sentences I have used are taken from 電子辞書. Any quarrel in that regard is with them.

[community.japanese]

qiziq-san,
Japanese adjectives could be more flexible and the usage can be different from English ones, but
there're are rules

I don't know where you saw 私は本がおもしろい but it can be correct and can work only in certain
contexts. Also, 春は曙 is a very famous sentence from old Japanese poem, so comtemprary grammar doesn't apply.

If you have any question about 形容詞 and its phrase, please feel free to ask us
電子辞書 might not be very helpful if it's created for Japanese people.

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[qiziq]

奈津子,

Thank you for your insight. 電子辞書 is actually a Japanese language learning tool. My biggest problem with it is that reading sample sentences without any context is not always most elucidating. For example, when I read sentences like 私は楽しい translated as "I am happy," I assume, given the root meaning of the word, that something more like "I am having a good time." is intended, and not something close to 幸せ. But it is hard for me to know.

Which takes me back to my point about rules seeming to be tied to the meaning of the word. What is it about 楽しい that ties it intrinsically to personal experience, whereas 面白い is linked more with the essence of the thing? When you say that 私は本が面白い only makes sense in certain contexts, that makes sense to me. I suspect that a fuller reading might be something more like 私は本をよむのが面白い. It seems that a great deal of etymological research has to be done just to use these 形容詞 properly. Because subjects and objects are so often left out, I used and listened to the 楽しい for years as a teenager many years ago without ever knowing that the experience was intended, and not the enjoyableness of the thing.

[community.japanese]

qiziq-san,
wow, your analysis is brilliant!
You're right; seeing simple example sentences without context sometimes don't help.
Regarding 面白い and 楽しい, these usages are very Japanesie. I mean, it's sometimes different from
English "enjoyable", "fun", "funny", "interesting" etc.
So, the reason why I wrote 私は本が面白い can make sense only in a certain context is because
it sounds more like "as to me (or "for me"), books are interesting", so someone should have said some similar
thing before this sentence, and the topic should be something like "recent interest" or "hobby".

面白い can be something pulls your attention, being funny, being interesting etc. 楽しい on the other hand
means something makes you enjoy.　Stand alone 楽しい can express someone's feelings like "I feel happy and I'm
enjoying it". 幸せ has slightly different connotation. It literally means more "happy", but not like "enjoying something";
it's more life-related happiness. Simple translation wouldn't work here, but it can be "happy, blessed and lucky" or
one of those sense (depending on context and situation).

Hope this helps

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com