Shopping for Clothes

かばんは大きいです [kaban wa ōkii desu]
The bag is big.

• かばんは [kaban wa] means "as for the bag"
• 大きいです [ōkii desu] means "It's big."

きれいなかばん [kireina kaban]
A pretty bag.

• きれいな [kireina] means "pretty"
• きれい [kirei] is a 'な [na]-Adjective'
• かばん [kaban] means "bag"

In Japanese, adjectives are divided into two categories based on how they behave in sentences:

な [na]-Adjectives:

• Add な to the adjective before the noun.
• These words describe nouns just like adjectives, but grammatically, they behave more like verbs in Japanese.

い [i]-Adjectives:

• They don't need な before a noun or です at the end of a sentence to work as adjectives.

Dual-citizen adjectives (like 大きい and 小さい) are usually intuitive based on context.

• A: 今日は何を買うつもりですか
  What are you planning to buy today?
• B: 今日は小さいかばんを買うつもりです [kyō wa chiisai kaban o kau tsumori desu]
  Today I am planning to buy a small bag.
• A: ああ、そうですか
  Oh, I see!
• B: 今日は何を買うつもりですか [kyō wa nani o kau tsumori desu ka]
  What are you planning to buy today?
• A: 今日は大きな帽子を買うつもりです
  I plan to buy a big hat today.