おおい / おおぜい / たくさん

おおい / おおぜい / たくさん Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: い-Adjective

Essential Meaning: Many / A lot of / Much

Construction: い-Adjective

Notes:

• おおい (多おおい in kanji) is an い-Adjective that indicates that there is a large number or quantity of some thing. It is analogous to to the English adjectives “Many” or “Much“. One important note is that, unlike other い-Adjectives, 多おおい can not be used directly before the noun it modifies. Instead, it must be used as the predicate of a clause.
  • E.g. 猫ねこが多おおい。[There are many cats.] In this example, 猫ねこ is the subject (marked by が), and 多おおい is the predicate.

• If 多おおい is used as the predicate of a relative clause, 多おおい may appear directly before a noun (but not before the noun that it modifies). One exceptional structure to note is 多おおくの, which is primarily used in formal written Japanese to directly modify nouns.
  • E.g. お寺てらが多おおい町まちは京都きょうとです。[The town that has a lot of temples is Kyoto.] In this example, 多おおい directly precedes the noun 町まち, but 多おおい actually modifies the word お寺てら as the predicate of the relative clause “お寺てらが多おおい”.
  • E.g. 多おおくの学生がくせいが毎年まいとしアジアから日本にほんの大学だいがくにくる。[Every year, a large number of students come to Japanese universities from across Asia.] Note that in this example 多おおくの directly precedes the noun that it modifies (i.e. 学生がくせい).

• おおぜい (大勢おおぜい in kanji) means “A large crowd of people” or “In great numbers“. It is very similar to 多おおい, but it can only be used when referring to human beings. 多おおい and 多おおくの can be replaced by 大勢おおぜいいる and 大勢おおぜいの respectively.
  • E.g. この部屋へやには学生がくせいが大勢おおぜいいる。[In this room, there are many students.]
  • E.g. この部屋へやには大勢おおぜいの学生がくせいがいる。[In this room, there are many students.]

• 大勢おおぜい can be used on its own adverbially, but 多おおい can not.
  • E.g. 学生がくせいが大勢おおぜいきた。[The students came in droves.]
  • E.g. *学生がくせいが多おおくきた。[The students came in droves.] 多おおい can not be used adverbially.

• たくさん [Many] is another common word that is similar in meaning to 多おおい. The adjective forms 多おおい and 多おおくの can be replaced by たくさんある/いる and たくさんの, respectively. たくさん can also be used by itself adverbially.
  • E.g. Adjectival たくさん: この部屋へやには学生がくせいがたくんいる。[In this room, there are many students.]
  • E.g. Adverbial たくさん: 今年ことしはたくさん雪ゆきが降ふった。[This year, a lot of snow fell.]
  • E.g. Adjectival たくさん: この部屋へやには机つくえがたくさんある。[In this room, there are many desks.]

• The adverbial form 多おおく may be used as a noun in position B of the structure AのB. This creates a noun phrase meaning “The majority of A”. 大勢 おおぜい and たくさん can not be used as nouns in this way.
  • E.g. 学生がくせいの多おおくは男おとこだ。[The majority of students are male.]
  • E.g. *学生がくせいの大勢おおぜいは男おとこだ。[The majority of students are male.]
  • E.g. *学生がくせいのたくさんは男おとこだ。[The majority of students are male.]

• すくない [Few] is the antonym of 多おおい. Unlike 多おおい, すくない can not be used as a noun (i.e. の多おおく) or as a direct noun modifier (i.e. 多おおくの).
  • E.g. この町まちは車くるまが少すくない。[In this town, there are few cars.]
  • E.g. 日本語にほんごの新聞しんぶんが読よめる学生がくせいは少すくない。[There are few students who can read Japanese newspapers.]

Example Sentences:

日本にほんには大学だいがくが多おおい。[There are many universities in Japan.]

京都きょうとにはお寺てらが多おおいです。[There are many temples in Kyoto.]

ロスさんの作文さくぶんは間ま違ちがいが多おおいです。[Ross’s composition has many mistakes.]

一月いちがつは雪ゆきが多おおい。[There is a lot of snow in January.]

WILD Examples:

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