Talk:形容動詞

1. (grammar) adjectival verb (a word class in the traditional description of Japanese grammar)

Usage notes

In traditional Japanese grammar, adjectives except 連体詞(れんたいし) (rentaishi, “adnominals”) fall into two categories depending on their perceived suffix: 形容詞(けいようし) (keiyōshi, literally “adjectives”) have suffixes not found in other word classes (し (shi) in Classical Japanese, い (i) in modern Japanese) while 形容動詞(けいようどうし) (keiyō dōshi, literally “adjectival verbs”) have suffixes identical to verbs (なり (nari) or たり (tari) in Classical Japanese, だ (da) in modern Japanese), hence the names.

Classical Japanese

Word class		Suffix	Example
形容詞(けいようし) (keiyōshi, literally “adjectives”)		し (-shi)	高(たか)し (takashi)
形容動詞(けいようどうし) (keiyō dōshi, literally “adjectival verbs”)	ナリ活用(かつよう) (nari katsuyō, “-nari conjugation”)	なり (nari)	静(しず)かなり (shizuka nari)
	タリ活用(かつよう) (tari katsuyō, “-tari conjugation”)	たり (tari)	堂々(どうどう)たり (dōdō tari)

Modern Japanese

Word class		Suffix	Example	Name in nihongo kyōiku (Japanese-language education in Japan for foreigners) materials
形容詞(けいようし) (keiyōshi, literally “adjectives”)		い (-i)	高(たか)い (takai)	イ形容詞(けいようし) (i keiyōshi, “-i adjectives”)
形容動詞(けいようどうし) (keiyō dōshi, literally “adjectival verbs”)	ダ型活用(けいかつよう) (da-kei katsuyō, “-da type conjugation”)	だ (da)	静(しず)かだ (shizuka da)	ナ形容詞(けいようし) (na keiyōshi, “-na adjectives”) (named after the adnominal form of the suffix, な (na))
	タルト型活用(けいかつよう) (taruto-kei katsuyō, “-taru/-to type conjugation”) or トタル型活用(けいかつよう) (totaru-kei katsuyō, “-to/-taru type conjugation”)	no dictionary form, adnominal form たる (taru), adverb form と (to)	堂々(どうどう)たる (dōdō taru), 悠然(ゆうぜん)と (yūzen to)

From the western linguistic view, however, the suffix in the so-called 形容動詞(けいようどうし) (keiyō dōshi, literally “adjectival verbs”) are usually considered not part of the adjective itself, but standalone copulas, as shown by the rōmaji (e.g. shizuka da/na as opposed to shizukada/-na). Due to the nominal nature of the stem and the verb- or particle-like nature of the suffix, in western sources the stems (shizuka), rather than the whole words (shizuka da), are usually considered the shape of the adjectives and sometimes called adjectival nouns as opposed to adjectival verbs. Other terms include copular noun and quasi-adjective.

Some linguistic analyses of Japanese grammar, such as the one by Bjarke Frellesvig, consider the suffix of so-called 形容詞(けいようし) (keiyōshi, literally “adjectives”) (viz. し (shi) in Classical Japanese, い (i) in modern Japanese) to be a copula as well. Also note that some sources call this type of adjectives "adjectival verbs" or "stative verbs", don't confuse it with 形容動詞(けいようどうし) (keiyō dōshi, literally “adjectival verbs”) in the traditional description of Japanese grammar.

@Eirikr, TAKASUGI Shinji What do you think about this description? --Dine2016 (talk) 12:59, 14 June 2019 (UTC)

I don’t know what you expect, but the explanation seems correct. 静か is not an adjectival verb; 静かだ is. We classify 静か in adjectival nouns. — TAKASUGI Shinji (talk) 15:03, 14 June 2019 (UTC)