第05課: Adjectives I: ク & シク
Adjectives in Modern Japanese are either 形容詞 or 形容動詞. 形容詞 today are actually the simplified result of two kinds of adjectives: ク and シク ending 形容詞. In this lesson you will learn how to conjugate and use these two classes of Classical Japanese verbs and also how they are different from each other.
ク活用形容詞
ク活用形容詞 get their name from their 連用形 being ～く. This class of adjectives is known for being largely comprised of adjectives which describe physicality – 浅し (shallow), 黒し (black), etc.
In Classical Japanese, adjectives possessed two sets of bases: /ku/-stem and /kari/-stem bases.
: く stem and かり stem. The two sets of bases of ク活用動詞 are:
| /ku/-stem | /kari/-stem | Frequently Followed By… | |
| Irrealis Form 未然形 | 〇 | から | ～ず (negation), ～む (supposition), ～ば (conditional) |
| Continuative1 Form 連用形 | く | かり | く: ～て (conjunctive particle) かり: ～き (past tense), ～けり (retrospective past tense) |
| Terminal/Predicative Form 終止形 | し | 〇 | |
| Attributive2 Form 連体形 | き | かる | き: Nominal phrases かる: ～べし (ought to) |
| Realis Form 已然形 | けれ | 〇 | ～ど (although) |
| Imperative Form 命令形 | 〇 | かれ |
The /ku/-stem bases are the primary bases for conjugation, whereas the /kari/-stem bases are supplementary, intended for when auxiliary verbs are meant to be used in conjunction with adjectives. These supplementary /kari/-stem bases are, in fact, derived from the fusing of the /ku/-stem bases and the existential verb あり.
In actuality, there does exist a /kari/-stem 終止形, as does also a /kari/-stem 已然形3, but these two forms are mostly observed with 多し (to be many) and 無し (to not be) – 多かり・多かれ and 多かり・無かり respectively. These exceptional forms are heavily used in poetry and tales.
1. 所も変はらず人も多かれどいにしへ見し人は二三十人が中にわづかにひとりふたりなり。
Places too don’t change, and although there are many people, of the 20 or 30 people that I have seen in the past, there are (now) merely one or two.
From the 方丈記.
Grammar Note: The particle が before なか is used in Classical Japanese as the possessive case particle.
2. 甍を争へる高き賤しき人のすまひは
The houses of both the noble and the base competing with their roof tiles
From the 方丈記.
3. 消えずといへども 夕を待つ事なし。
Even if (the dew) doesn’t vanish, there is never a case where it waits for evening.
From the 方丈記.
4. 目も當てられぬこと多かり。
There are many things that one couldn’t cast one’s eyes on.
From the 方丈記.
5. この吹く風はよきかたの風なり。
This wind that is blowing is wind from a good direction.
From the 竹取物語.
6. よからぬ物
Things that aren’t good
7. 上は鞘巻の黑く塗りたりけるが
As for the surface, it was varnished black with a wound case.
From the 平家物語.
8. 善かれ。
Be good!
Archaism Note: Sometimes old forms of adjectives show up in Modern Japanese phrases. For instance, the usage of the 連体形 as a nominal form is very common in set phrases such as proverbs even today.
9. 弱きを助け、強きを挫く。
Help the weak, and crush the strong.
シク活用形容詞
シク活用形容詞 in Modern Japanese are 形容詞 that end in しい or じい. These adjectives are typically subjective. These also tend to have different meanings than now. For example, をかし in Classical Japanese is equivalent to “zestful”, but its modern form おかしい means “funny”. The bases of シク活用形容詞 are the same as ク活用形容詞 with the only difference being that -し is present. This, of course, is -じ whenever the adjective ends in -じ.
| Stem | 未然形 | 連用形 | 終止形 | 連体形 | 已然形 | 命令形 |
| く | X | しく | し | しき | しけれ | X |
| かり | しから | しかり | X | しかる | X | しかれ |
Common シク活用形容詞 in Classical Japanese include the following.
| いみじ | Extreme | 同じ （おなじ） | Same |
| 嬉し （うれし） | Happy | ゆかし | Attractive |
| 正し （ただし） | Correct | 美し （うつくし） | Pretty |
Grammar Note: 同じ has two alternative 連体形 aside from the かり-stem 同じかる, おなじ and おなじき. The first is used in 和文 (classical) texts while the second is used in 漢文.
10. ゆめうれしからず。
I would not be happy at all.
From the 土佐物語.
11. また、これに同じかるべし。
Again, it should be the same as this.
From the 徒然草.
12. さりければ 大臣いときよらに 蘇芳襲などきたまうて 后の宮にまゐりたまうて 院の御消息のいとうれしく 侍りてかくいろゆるされて侍こと などきこえ給ふ。
With that the reason, the minister was very elegant and handsome, and he wore suoagasane and came to the palace of the empress and said he was very happy to receive a message from the retired emperor and that he was allowed to wear the restricted colors.
From the 大和物語.
Cultural Note: 蘇芳襲 were layered clothes with light brown on front and dark red underneath.
13. いみじううれしかりしものかな。
What an extremely pleasant thing it was!
From the 枕草子.
Contraction Note: いみじう is a contraction of いみじく.
14. 柳などをかしこそさらなれ それもまだまゆにこもりたるはをかし。
It’s needless to say that the (blossoming of the) willow tree is zestful, and the willow tree still covered in a cocoon(-like bud) is also zestful.
From the 枕草子.
15. おもしろく咲きたる櫻を長く折りて 大きなる瓶にさしたるこそをかしけれ。
Picking up beautifully blossomed cherry blossoms and placing them in a big vase is precisely zestful.
From the 枕草子.
16. うれしきもの まだ見ぬ物語の一を見て いみじうゆかしとのみ思ふが 残り見いでたる。
Pleasing things. You looked at a volume of a story you still hadn’t read, and just as you were thinking that it was only extremely attractive, you found the remaining volume.
From the 枕草子.
17. 同じ心ならん人としめやかに物語して をかしき事も 世の儚き事も うらなく言ひ慰まんこそうれしかるべき
にさる人あるまじければ つゆ違はざらんと向ひゐたらんは たゞひとりある心地やせん。
If there is a person of the same heart, I will solemnly talk (with that person) about the zestful things, the vain things, and if we certainly comfort (each other) without hiding things it will be a happy thing. Yet, without there being supposed to be such a person, in order to not differ even slightly with one and other, if we confront each other, we will have the feeling of one.
From the 徒然草.
18. 同じき三年太宰大弐になる。
He became the Daini of the Dazaifu in the same third year.
From the 平家物語.
Important Contraction Rules
The /k/ in the き・しき-連体形 as well as the/k/ in the く・しく-連用形 are often dropped. As for the contraction in the 連体形, this is how the modern form of 形容詞 developed. The contraction in the 連用形 is maintained in many dialects today.
Exercises
1. Conjugate the シク活用形容詞 口惜し（くちをし） meaning “regrettable” into its bases.
2. Conjugate the ク活用形容詞 青し（あおし） meaning “blue” into its bases.
3. What do most ク活用形容詞 describe?
4. What do most シク活用動詞 describe?
5. Illustrate the difference between the 終止形 and 連体形 and show what they became in Modern Japanese for both types of adjectives.
- The 連用形 may also be referred to as the “adverbial form” whenever it modifies verbal/adjectival phrases to that effect. ↩︎
- The 連体形 may also be referred to as the “adnominal form.” ↩︎
- In earlier stages of Old Japanese, the /ku/-stem 已然形 could be seen rendered as け. Also, up until the Edo Period, both けれ and かれ were interchangeable in speech. In light with the early stage rendition of the /ku/-stem 已然形, it would appear that the i /ku/-stem けれ rendition derived from かれ and that けれ ultimately completely replaced it. ↩︎