Negative Forms | What's Your IQ

Introduction to Negative Forms

In Japanese, expressing negation is essential for everyday communication. Negative forms allow you to say that something is not true, did not happen, or will not happen. Unlike English, Japanese uses specific conjugation patterns for verbs, adjectives, and nouns to express negation.

We will explore how to form negative verbs, adjectives, and the negative copula, with examples to help you understand their usage.

Negative Verb Conjugation

To make verbs negative in their plain form, you generally replace the verb ending with its negative equivalent. For Group 1 (Godan) verbs, the final -u sound changes to its corresponding -a sound, then add ない. For Group 2 (Ichidan) verbs, simply remove る and add ない.

Verb Type	Plain Form	Negative Form
Godan (う-verbs)	書く (kaku) – to write	書かない (kakanai) – do not write
Ichidan (る-verbs)	食べる (taberu) – to eat	食べない (tabenai) – do not eat

私は手紙を書かない。

Watashi wa tegami o kakanai.

I do not write letters.

彼は肉を食べない。

Kare wa niku o tabenai.

He does not eat meat.

Negative Forms of Adjectives

Japanese adjectives are divided into two main types: い-adjectives and な-adjectives. Their negative forms are created differently.

For い-adjectives, replace the final い with くない. For な-adjectives, add じゃない after the adjective stem.

Adjective Type	Positive	Negative
い-Adjective	高い (takai) – high/expensive	高くない (takakunai) – not high/not expensive
な-Adjective	静か (shizuka) – quiet	静かじゃない (shizuka janai) – not quiet

この部屋は広くない。

Kono heya wa hirokunai.

This room is not spacious.

彼女は親切じゃない。

Kanojo wa shinsetsu janai.

She is not kind.

Polite Negative Forms

To express negation politely, conjugate verbs into their ます form and then add ません. This applies to both Godan and Ichidan verbs. Similarly, adjectives use polite negative forms by adding くないです or じゃないです.

Form	Example	Meaning
Verb Polite Negative	書きません (kakimasen)	do not write
い-Adjective Polite Negative	高くないです (takakunai desu)	is not expensive
な-Adjective Polite Negative	静かじゃないです (shizuka janai desu)	is not quiet

私は手紙を書きません。

Watashi wa tegami o kakimasen.

I do not write letters.

この本は高くないです。

Kono hon wa takakunai desu.

This book is not expensive.

Negative of です and だ

The copula です (polite) and だ (plain) are used to link nouns and adjectives to the subject. Their negative forms are ではありません (polite) and じゃない or ではない (plain).

Note that じゃない is a contraction of ではない and is commonly used in casual speech.

Form	Example	Meaning
Polite Negative	学生ではありません (gakusei dewa arimasen)	is not a student
Plain Negative	学生じゃない (gakusei janai)	is not a student

彼は先生ではありません。

Kare wa sensei dewa arimasen.

He is not a teacher.

私は学生じゃない。

Watashi wa gakusei janai.

I am not a student.

Negating Nouns with じゃない

When negating nouns in casual speech, the phrase じゃない is commonly added after the noun. This form is very versatile and used frequently in everyday conversation.

これはペンじゃない。

Kore wa pen janai.

This is not a pen.

彼女は日本人じゃない。

Kanojo wa nihonjin janai.

She is not Japanese.

Practice Examples

Try to identify the negative forms in these sentences and translate them.

犬は好きじゃない。

Inu wa suki janai.

I do not like dogs.

彼は昨日学校に行かなかった。

Kare wa kinō gakkō ni ikanakatta.

He did not go to school yesterday.

部屋がきれいじゃないです。

Heya ga kirei janai desu.

The room is not clean.

Answers:

好きじゃない – “do not like”
行かなかった – past negative of 行く (to go)
きれいじゃないです – polite negative of な-adjective

Tips for Remembering Rules

Memorize verb groups (Godan vs Ichidan) to conjugate negatives correctly.
For verbs, remember the “-a” sound change + ない for Godan verbs.
Adjective negatives: い-adjectives replace い with くない, while な-adjectives add じゃない.
Use polite negative forms (ません, じゃないです) to sound more formal and respectful.
じゃない is casual and very common for negating nouns and adjectives.