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JLPT N1 Na-Adjectives Vocabulary (2026)

Complete JLPT N1 Na-Adjectives vocabulary with readings and example sentences (89 words).

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89 formal, often literary na-adjectives spanning the full evaluative range — from refined and elegant to crude and cowardly — the descriptive vocabulary of literary criticism and character description at the N1 level.

This article is part of our JLPT N1 Complete Vocabulary Guide. Practice all 89 words with the Na-Adjectives Vocabulary deck in Onigiri Anki.

Severity, Harshness & Coldness (15)

Personalities or situations marked by strictness, cruelty, or emotional distance.

cold-hearted冷徹reitetsu

彼は冷徹な口調で答えた。 — He answered in a cold tone.

fierce苛烈karetsu

今年の競争は苛烈を極めた。 — The competition this year was fierce.

grim厳峻genshun

厳峻な山道を、雪の中で進み続けた。 — We continued along the severe mountain path through the snow.

harsh苛酷kakoku

苛酷な冬の試練は私たちを限界まで追い込んだ。 — The harsh winter test pushed us to our limits.

irritating苛立たしいiradatashii

彼の文句ばかり言う態度は苛立たしい。 — His habit of complaining all the time is irritating.

severe; stern冷厳reigan

彼の声は冷厳だった。 — His voice was severe and stern.

steep; precipitous峻険shunken

その山道は峻険で、途中で何度も足を止めた。 — The mountain path was precipitous, and I had to stop many times along the way.

strong; intense強烈kyouretsu

議論はさらに強烈になった。 — The debate became even more intense.

upright; rigid剛直gouchoku

彼の剛直な態度は、みんなの信頼を集めた。 — His upright attitude earned everyone's trust.

resolute; sturdy剛毅gouki

彼女は剛毅さで危機を乗り越えた。 — She overcame the crisis with great resoluteness.

arrogant; haughty傲岸gougan

彼の傲岸な言い方は、周りを不快にした。 — His arrogant way of speaking made those around him uncomfortable.

indifferent冷淡reitan

彼は批判に冷淡で、何も言わなかった。 — He was indifferent to the criticism and said nothing.

bitter; sharp-tongued辛辣shinratsu

彼女の辛辣な批判はこたえた。 — Her sharp criticism was hard to take.

disdainful; contemptuous軽侮keibu

彼はその提案を軽侮するように笑った。 — He laughed in contempt of the proposal.

rigorous厳正gensei

会社は計画を厳正に見直した。 — The company reviewed the plan rigorously.

Crudeness, Poor Quality & Vulgarity (14)

Rough, cheap, or tasteless — the opposite end of refinement.

crude稚拙chisetsu

彼の説明は稚拙で、わかりにくかった。 — His explanation was crude and hard to follow.

sloppy杜撰zusan

その報告書は杜撰だったので、書き直した。 — The report was sloppy, so I had to redo it.

vulgar (tasteless, base)俗悪zokuaku

その週刊誌の俗悪な論調は、多くの読者に嫌われた。 — The tabloid's vulgar tone made many readers dislike it.

vulgar卑俗hizoku

彼は卑俗な冗談を笑い飛ばして、話題を変えた。 — He laughed off the vulgar joke and changed the subject.

rough; uncultured粗野soya

彼の粗野な態度は人を不快にした。 — His rough manners made people uncomfortable.

rough; violent粗暴sobou

容疑者は粗暴なふるまいで逮捕された。 — The suspect was arrested for violent behavior.

rough; careless粗雑sozatsu

彼の粗雑な扱いで、その書類は傷んだ。 — His rough handling damaged the document.

shoddy; poor-quality粗悪soaku

その家の粗悪な作りにがっかりした。 — I was disappointed by the shoddy construction of the house.

dry and lifeless無味乾燥mumikansou

その報告書は無味乾燥で、眠くなった。 — The report was so dry and lifeless that I almost fell asleep.

unrefined; blunt無骨bukotsu

彼は無骨だが、うそはつかない。 — He is blunt, but he never lies.

trite陳腐chinpu

その言い訳は陳腐です。 — That excuse is trite.

frivolous軽薄keihaku

彼の軽薄な発言は皆をいら立たせた。 — His frivolous remark irritated everyone.

rash軽率keisotsu

考えずに辞めるのは軽率だった。 — It was rash to quit without thinking.

hollow空疎kuuso

部長の説明は空疎に聞こえた。 — The manager's explanation sounded hollow.

Refinement, Elegance & Excellence (11)

Words of admiration for taste, style, and sophistication.

sophisticated洗練されたsenren sareta

彼女は芸術に洗練された趣味を持っています。 — She has sophisticated taste in art.

ingenious巧妙koumyou

探偵は巧妙な手口で犯人を追い詰めた。 — The detective cornered the culprit with an ingenious method.

graceful優美yuubi

彼女の優美な動きは、舞台の上で人々を魅了した。 — Her graceful movements captivated people on stage.

gorgeous華麗karei

式典のために、会場は華麗に飾られていた。 — The hall was decorated in a gorgeous style for the ceremony.

handsome端麗tanrei

その俳優は端麗な顔立ちで、どこへ行っても目立った。 — The actor had handsome features and stood out wherever he went.

honest清廉seiren

その大臣は清廉だったので、国民に信頼されていた。 — Because the minister was incorruptible, he was trusted by the public.

noble高尚koushou

彼の講演は高尚で、皆が黙って聞いていた。 — His lecture was lofty, and everyone listened silently.

novel斬新zanshin

彼女の提案は斬新だった。 — Her proposal was refreshingly novel.

delicate繊細sensai

彼女の作品はとても繊細です。 — Her work is very delicate.

meticulous綿密menmitsu

綿密な計画を立てました。 — We made a meticulous plan.

meticulous (careful, cautious)細心saishin

彼は仕事に細心です。 — He is meticulous in his work.

Scale, Emptiness & Extent (12)

How vast, sparse, or substantial something is.

empty空虚kuukyo

拍手が終わると、空虚な気持ちだけが残った。 — After the applause ended, only an empty feeling remained.

trivial些細sasai

それは些細な違いにすぎない。 — That is only a trivial difference.

vast広大koudai

広大な草原が目の前に広がっていた。 — A vast grassland spread out before us.

magnificent壮大soudai

そのコンサートは壮大でした。 — The concert was magnificent.

flat平板heiban

その話は平板で面白くなかった。 — The story was flat and uninteresting.

enormous膨大boudai

膨大なデータを分析した。 — We analyzed an enormous amount of data.

frequent頻繁hinpan

彼とは頻繁に連絡を取っている。 — I keep in touch with him frequently.

displayed; arranged陳列chinretsu

商品は店先にきれいに陳列されていた。 — The products were neatly displayed in the window.

presence or absence有無umu

欠陥の有無を確認してください。 — Please check whether there are any defects.

unprecedented空前kuuzen

その計画は空前の成功を収めた。 — The project achieved unprecedented success.

bland淡白tanpaku

そのソースは淡白な味だったので、塩を足した。 — The sauce had a bland taste, so I added some salt.

overemphasis偏重henchou

この学校は成績に偏重している。 — This school places too much emphasis on grades.

Composure, Caution & Deliberateness (10)

Careful, unhurried, or emotionally steady dispositions.

leisurely悠長yuuchou

悠長なことを言っている場合ではない。 — This is no time to be leisurely.

calm; composed沈着chinchaku

彼は沈着に質問に答えた。 — He answered with calm composure.

roundabout迂遠uen

彼の説明は迂遠で分かりにくかった。 — His explanation was too roundabout and hard to understand.

dignified重厚juukou

その重厚なホールは強い印象を与えた。 — The dignified hall made a strong impression.

stately荘重souchou

そのホールは荘重な雰囲気に包まれていた。 — The hall had a stately atmosphere.

serene静謐seihitsu

雨上がりの庭は静謐だった。 — The garden was serene after the rain.

quiet閑静kansei

私たちは閑静な住宅街に家を買った。 — We bought a house in a quiet neighborhood.

feeble; weak薄弱hakujaku

その理論は結論を支えるには薄弱だ。 — That theory is too weak to support the conclusion.

vague曖昧模糊aimaimoko

彼の答えは曖昧模糊としていて、誰にも理解できなかった。 — His answer was so vague that no one could understand it.

malicious陰湿inshitsu

彼女は同僚に対して陰湿な噂を流した。 — She spread malicious rumors about her coworker.

Cowardice, Meanness & Self-Regard (16)

Negative personal qualities — timidity, contempt, or self-deprecation.

cowardly卑怯hikyou

何も言わずに逃げるのは卑怯だ。 — It was cowardly to run away without saying anything.

despicable; mean卑劣hiretsu

それは卑劣なうそでした。 — That was a despicable lie.

self-deprecation卑下hige

彼の卑下は、かえってみんなを困らせた。 — His self-deprecation only made everyone uncomfortable.

disgust; boredom厭気iyake

同じ毎日に厭気がさしてきた。 — I have grown weary of the same routine every day.

stubborn; tough頑強gankyou

そのドアは頑強で、びくともしなかった。 — The door was sturdy and did not budge at all.

aloof; above the crowd孤高kokou

彼は孤高を保ち、他人に流されなかった。 — He maintained his aloofness and was not swayed by others.

isolated and without support孤立無援koritsumuen

彼は討論で孤立無援の状態だった。 — He was isolated and had no support in the debate.

safe; unproblematic無難bunan

彼は無難な答えを選んだ。 — He chose the safe answer.

gloomy; dismal陰鬱inutsu

その部屋は陰鬱な雰囲気に包まれていた。 — The room was enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere.

desolate荒涼kouryou

夜の駅は荒涼としていた。 — The deserted station looked desolate at night.

tragic無惨muzan

その事故は無惨な結末を迎えた。 — The accident ended in a tragic end.

miserable悲惨hisan

洪水の後、村は悲惨な状態になった。 — The village was left in a miserable state after the flood.

preposterous荒唐koutou

そんな説明は荒唐無稽だ。 — That explanation is completely preposterous.

careless; inattentive迂闊ukatsu

電車に財布を忘れるとは迂闊だった。 — It was careless of me to leave my wallet on the train.

taciturn寡黙kamoku

彼は寡黙だが、言葉はいつも頼りになる。 — He is taciturn, but his words are always reliable.

informed on little; ignorant寡聞kabun

私は現代美術について寡聞です。 — I am not very informed about modern art.

Simplicity & Directness (11)

Stripped-down, uncomplicated, or straightforward.

simple; abridged簡略kanryaku

説明を簡略してください。 — Please simplify the explanation.

simple; plain簡素kanso

部屋は簡素で、飾りがなかった。 — The room was simple and plain, with no decoration.

convenient; simple簡便kanben

このアプリは簡便で使いやすい。 — This app is convenient and easy to use.

clear and concise簡明kanmei

彼女の説明は簡明だった。 — Her explanation was clear and concise.

pragmatic実用的jitsuyouteki

実用的な解決策が必要です。 — We need a pragmatic solution.

esoteric難解nankai

この理論はかなり難解です。 — This theory is quite esoteric.

thorough徹底的tetteiteki

原因を徹底的に調査した。 — We thoroughly investigated the cause.

blatant露骨rokotsu

彼は露骨に嫌な顔をした。 — He made a blatantly displeased face.

abrupt唐突toutotsu

彼の唐突な質問に、みんなが固まった。 — His abrupt question made everyone freeze.

arbitrary恣意的shiiteki

この決定は恣意的に見えます。 — This decision seems arbitrary.

latent / potential潜在的senzaiteki

この市場には潜在的な需要がある。 — This market has latent demand.

The 卑 (low/base) family

Four words share the kanji 卑 ("low, base, humble"): 卑怯 (cowardly), 卑劣 (despicable), 卑下 (self-deprecation), and 卑俗 (vulgar). All carry a moral judgment of something being beneath a proper standard, but they attach to different targets — 卑怯/卑劣 judge an action or character, 卑下 describes lowering oneself (often excessively, in false modesty), and 卑俗 judges taste or culture. Separately, 稚拙 (crude, unskilled — literally "childish-clumsy") and 杜撰 (sloppy, slipshod, historically from a Chinese poet whose verses were said to be error-ridden) are a useful pair for describing poor-quality work, one about skill level and one about carelessness.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 冷徹 and 冷淡?

冷徹 describes a cold, clear-eyed rationality — someone who judges situations without letting emotion interfere, often used with grudging respect (冷徹な判断力, a coldly clear-headed judgment). 冷淡 simply means cold and indifferent toward other people, with no positive connotation — it's closer to "uncaring."

Are 簡略, 簡素, 簡便, and 簡明 interchangeable?

No — each modifies something different. 簡略 describes a process or procedure made brief/abbreviated (簡略化する, to simplify). 簡素 describes a lifestyle or design as plain/unadorned. 簡便 describes a method as convenient and easy to use. 簡明 describes an explanation as clear and easy to understand. All four share 簡 ("simple") but attach to different kinds of nouns.

Practice All 89 Na-Adjectives Vocabulary Words

Import the Na-Adjectives Vocabulary deck into Onigiri Anki and master this category with spaced repetition.