LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 76 JLPT N5
Many, Few (多い・少ない)
多い (many) and 少ない (few) are ordinary い-adjectives describing a count, always attaching to が, never directly modifying the noun in front like English “many books” does.
The new company has a lot of work.
The new company has few days off.
In Real Life
多い never sits directly in front of a noun the way English “many books” does, 多い本 is wrong. Say 本が多い (books are many) as its own clause, or use たくさんの本 (many books) instead if you need it inside a noun phrase.
This town has a lot of good restaurants, which is nice.
I want to live in a town with a lot of parks.
In Real Life
多くて is just 多い’s て-form, the same chaining trick every い-adjective uses to link two descriptions into one sentence: レストランが多くていい literally strings together “restaurants are many” and “good” into “has a lot of restaurants, which is nice.” 多い does turn directly into 多い町 (a town with a lot of X) when it’s modifying the noun as a full clause rather than standing alone, that’s different from trying to jam it in front of the counted noun itself.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| business trip | |
| overtime | |
| crime | |
| greenery | |
| experience | |
| population | |
| to live, reside | |
| to work | |
| to be crowded | |
| to be empty, uncrowded | |
| city, urban area | |
| countryside | |
| nature | |
| quiet | |
| public safety | |
| cost of living, prices | |
| traffic, transportation | |
| options, choices | |
| sufficient, plenty | |
| to be insufficient, lacking |