N4 Grammar | Using さ & み to Turn Adjectives into Nouns

Knowing how to turn adjectives into nouns by using さ and み is a great way to easily increase your vocabulary while only memorising one new conjugation.

This conjugation is called nominalising, and it gives us more flexibility when speaking or writing.

Without nominalisation, adjectives would normally be stuck only modifying nouns.

After they are formed into nouns, they can be the subject, topic, or object of the sentence, or take all kinds of prepositions like in, on, at, with, by, to, etc.

Using さ & み | い and な Adjectives

Using さ & み | Usages of さ

Using さ & み | Usages of み

Using さ & み | FAQ’s

Turning Adjectives Into Nouns | Using さ for い & な Adjectives

い Adjectives Use さ

Forming adjectives into nouns is very simple for い adjectives:

Remove the い and add さ instead.

~い ≫ ~い ≫ +さ

Example:

Now that 高い has been nominalised into 高さ, it can be used like a noun in any number of situations.

For example, it can now take the particle を.

な Adjectives Use さ

Use the stem form of the word (without な), and add さ.

Example:

Turning Adjectives Into Nouns | More Usages of さ

さ is not strictly limited to adjectives.

It can also modify word suffixes that behave like い adjectives, like:

• ~たい
• ~やすい
• ~にくい
• ~づらい
• ~らしい
• and ~っぽい.

Examples:

Nominalising adjectives with さ is like adding -ness to a word in English.

It refers to the degree of the adjective that something possesses.

For this reason, さ has a nuance of certainty. It implies that the adjective is certainly present. The word “redness” for instance, implies that some degree of red exists.

Turning Adjectives Into Nouns | Usages of み

Another way to nominalize is to add み to the end of adjectives.

It is conjugated in the same way that さ is, but instead of adding さ, we add み.

Example:

There are differences between さ and み.

• さ can be applied to any い adjective,
• while み is used on a more limited number of adjectives.

While さ refers to quantity, み refers more to quality, and gives the impression of a personal experience of the adjective.

“み refers more to quality”

Let us continue to examine the adjective 痛い.

Here is a breakdown of the different conjugations and their respective translations:

Let’s now examine the adjective 重い:

Here you go! You can now turn adjectives into nouns by using さ and み.

Make sure you check the other lessons of N4 Level:

• Probability in Japanese
• Purpose of Actions in Japanese
• Special Verbs in Japanese

And the most important grammar lessons:

• Japanese Counters
• Japanese Numbers
• Japanese Negative Form

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USING さ & み || FAQs