54. Character & Degree
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Vocabulary
kind, gentle
い-word
A describing word that ends in い. You change the ending to express different meanings — like 高い (expensive) becomes 高くない (not expensive).
dirty
い-word
A describing word that ends in い. You change the ending to express different meanings — like 高い (expensive) becomes 高くない (not expensive).
very, extremely
Adverb
A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).
not at all
Adverb
A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).
not very, not much
Adverb
A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).
recently, lately
Adverb
A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).
much (more), the whole time
Adverb
A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).
Grammar
Was [adjective] (past tense of i-adjectives)
Use this to talk about how something was in the past. Drop the final い from the adjective and add かった. It is like saying "was big" or "was fun" in English.
Pattern
[i-adj stem] + かった
i-adjective (drop い) + かった 大きい → 大きかった 暑い → 暑かった 優しい → 優しかった Exception: いい (good) → よかった
Examples
- The one big exception is いい (good) — it changes to よかった, not いかった.
- You can add です at the end to sound polite: 暑かったです.
Was not [adjective] (past negative of i-adjectives)
Use this to say something was NOT a certain way in the past. Drop the final い from the adjective and add くなかった. It is like saying "was not big" or "was not cold" in English.
Pattern
[i-adj stem] + くなかった
i-adjective (drop い) + くなかった 大きい → 大きくなかった 寒い → 寒くなかった 汚い → 汚くなかった Exception: いい (good) → よくなかった
Examples
- Just like the past form, いい (good) is irregular here — it becomes よくなかった, not いくなかった.
- 全然 (not at all) and あまり (not very) pair naturally with this pattern.
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