# 大きい / 大きな



## Ilmen

Good evening. I saw a number of times 「大きな」 used instead of 「大きい」as adjective, and 「小さな」 instead of 「小さい」. Why? What is the difference between these two version of the same adjective? Is there a question of formality?

Thank you for advance. ^^


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## Ilmen

I searched for both on Google, and there are the results:
~58 500 000 results for "大きな" and ~39 300 000 for "大きい";
~33 900 000 results for "小さな" and ~30 500 000 for "小さい".

It seems that the -na form is more common than the -i form of these two adjectives.
Searching for both forms, I found some interesting links... But I'm afraid I'll need some help to undersand them.
There are the links:
• http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/717634.html — [国語] 「大きい」→「大きな」、「小さい」→「小さな」 （連体詞、それとも......？）
• http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q129631747 — 「大きい・大きな、小さい・小さな」
• http://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2009/1002/266153.htm?o=0 — 大きなと大きいどっちが正しい？

Thank you for advance.


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## almostfreebird

What those links say is that there's no big difference between "大きい" and "大きな".

Ordinary Japanese don't know or care abut what 連体詞 is, so I advise you not to worry about 連体詞.

Both "大きい" and "大きな" are right. If anything, "大きい" just describes things objectively and neutrally, whereas "大きな" implies one's feeling(very subtle nuance), that's why  "大きな" or "小さな" is frequently used in song lyrics.


For example, this sentence [Don't think yourself so important; Don't be so bossy] can be translated as both
(a)あまり大きな顔をするな。and (b)あまり大きい顔をするな。

Both (a) and (b) are correct.　If I were to say something, sentence(b) might make you think that the person indeed has a big face.(describing objectively)


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## Ilmen

ありがとうございます。^^


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## furrykef

However, when the word does not precede a noun, you must use the 大きい form. In this way, 大きな is unlike a typical na-adjective.

その本は大きいね。 
その本は大きだね。


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## almostfreebird

furrykef said:


> その本は大きだね。



Actually there exists an expression "大きいだな"　or　”大きいだにゃ～”, which sounds very provincial(or hick?) and also theatrical.

There was this TV program, _The Beverly Hillbillies_, and in the Japanese-dubbed version, the rich hillbilly, especially the old man and his wife, are talking very provincial(or hick?) language like ”大きいだにゃ～”.


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## Ilmen

大丈夫です。記録しています。
情報にありがとうございます。^^


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## Ilmen

Hello; if I come to unearth this topic, it's for asking a further question about these two pseudo-na-adjectives that pertains to the "attributive" class (=連体詞), according to Wikipedia.

So, they can only be used as noun modifier, but never as stat-of-being predicate (「これは小さです」 is wrong ). But what about the negative form as in 「大きじゃないビル」? It is also wrong, isn't it?
It seems almost obvious, but I want to make sure since it is not asserted clearly anywhere. 

宜しくお願いします。


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## uchi.m

Ilmen said:


> Hello; if I come to unearth this topic, it's for asking a further question about these two pseudo-na-adjectives that pertains to the "attributive" class (=連体詞), according to Wikipedia.
> 
> So, they can only be used as noun modifier, but never as stat-of-being predicate (「これは小さです」 is wrong ). But what about the negative form as in 「大きじゃないビル」? It is also wrong, isn't it?
> It seems almost obvious, but I want to make sure since it is not asserted clearly anywhere.
> 
> 宜しくお願いします。


Les adjectives -i en japonais ont une <<conjugaison>> propre quand on veut les mettre sur la forme négative: *ooki*i ---> *ooki*kunai, *chiisa*i ---> *chiisa*kunai

Kono biru ha ookikunai (ce bâtiment n'est pas haut) ---> ookikunai biru ga taoresou ga, abunai (le bâtiment ni tellement haut a l'air délabrant, c'est danger)


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## almostfreebird

Ilmen said:


> But what about the negative form as in 「大きじゃないビル」? It is also wrong, isn't it?



Yes, it's wrong but sounds very familiar to me because TV talents/personalities from foreign countries like ケント・デリカット, デーブ・スペクター,  ボビー・オロゴン,  オスマン・サンコン  tend to speak like that.
Also when you go to a night club where foreign hostesses are working, they speak that way.

大きくないビル is right.


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## Ilmen

Okay, thank you for your confirmation. 


uchi.m said:


> Les adjectives -i en japonais ont une <<conjugaison>> propre quand on veut les mettre sur la forme négative: *ooki*i ---> *ooki*kunai, *chiisa*i ---> *chiisa*kunai
> 
> Kono biru ha ookikunai (ce bâtiment n'est pas haut) ---> ookikunai biru ga taoresou ga, abunai (le bâtiment ni tellement haut a l'air délabrant, c'est danger)



Tiens, du français, ce n'est pas commun par ici. Cela changera un peu de l'anglais. 

Ma question ne portait pas sur la forme négative de 大きい, mais bien de 大きな (qui n'est pas un adjectif en NA comme les autres). Je souhaitais simplement vérifier si sa forme négative (大きじゃない + nom) était correcte ou non. Et comme je m'en doutais, elle ne l'est pas.

Votre français semble plutôt bon, quoique votre dernière phrase contient un certain nombre d'erreurs. Permettez-moi de vous corriger. 

1) _Les adjecti*f*s *en* -i en japonais ont une *« *conjugaison* »* propre quand on veut les mettre *à* la forme négative._
2) _Ce bâtiment n'est pas haut._ 
3) _Le bâtiment *qui n'est pas grand* a l'air *délabré*, c'est *dangereux*._


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## uchi.m

Ilmen said:


> 1) _Les adjecti*f*s *en* -i en japonais ont une *« *conjugaison* »* propre quand on veut les mettre *à* la forme négative._
> 2) _Ce bâtiment n'est pas haut._
> 3) _Le bâtiment *qui n'est pas grand* a l'air *délabré*, c'est *dangereux*._


Merci pour la correction


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