just a little practice

[AJBryant]

へー. I had never seen that before.

Hungry Hotei and Rich beat me to it.

[Rounin T]

おめでたい→おめでとうございます also springs to mind.　　 B)

AJBryant wrote:
危ない　ー＞　危のうございます　（あぶのうございます）
高い　ー＞　高うございます　（たこうございます）
長い　ー＞　長うございます。（なごうございます）
Tony

But don't assume this exact pattern applies to all い-stem adjectives. It depends on the vowel in the preceding syllable; you'll notice all of the above examples end with -ai.

For instance, ii becomes uu, as in うれしい→うれしゅうございます.

[Harisenbon]

I'm sure everyone knows ありがたい→ありがとうございます too.
No? 早い→おはようございます

....

DOH!

[AJBryant]

For instance, ii becomes uu, as in うれしい→うれしゅうございます.

Good point. Forgot to mention that.

As I think about it, there aren't any other adjectives but "-ai" and "ii"... Is that correct or am I just addled from a lack of sleep?

Basically it all comes down to the historical root of the adjective. There were "しく" adjectives and "く" adjectives. Modern "ii" adjectives derive from the "く" adjectives, and "-i" adjectives are from the old "しく" adjectives.

Although both forms classically all ended in し, they get the name from their rentaikei (continuative) form variantion, which distinguished their form and usage.

く type adjectives
modern 高い　old 高し --> たかく
modern めでたい　old めでたし --> めでたく
With ござる, it becomes -ou (e.g. めでとう　ございます).

しく-type adjectives
modern 美しい　old 美し --> うつかしく
modern おかしい　old おかし --> おかしく
With ござる, it becomes -uu (e.g., うつくしゅう　ございます).

Don't you hate me sometimes? :p

Tony

[Mike Cash]

AJBryant wrote:

For instance, ii becomes uu, as in うれしい→うれしゅうございます.

Good point. Forgot to mention that.

As I think about it, there aren't any other adjectives but "-ai" and "ii"... Is that correct or am I just addled from a lack of sleep?

You're nemui and your eyelids are omoi.

[AJBryant]

You're nemui and your eyelids are omoi.

Right you are, and indeed I was. I should have realized that was hoping too much for two historical patterns and two modern. Ah, well. At least the historical pattern still holds.

Omoi and Nemui were historically ku-kei adjectives {omoshi --> omoku} and {nemushi -->nemuku}, so that pattern is valid.

Man what the HECK was I thinking? I should not post at 3 am, that's all there is to it.


Tony

[paul_b]

AJBryant wrote:
I should not post at 3 am, that's all there is to it.

Boy do I know that feeling!

[Rounin T]

AJBryant wrote:
Don't you hate me sometimes?

Not at all. The history of the Japanese language is fascinating. We're lucky to have you.

Ah, well. At least the historical pattern still holds.

Omoi and Nemui were historically ku-kei adjectives {omoshi --> omoku} and {nemushi -->nemuku}, so that pattern is valid.

What's really unfortunate is that the keigo pattern doesn't match the historical pattern.

眠い　becomes ねむうございます, similar to those -しく adjectives, while 重い becomes おもうございます。

If you want to confirm this with a　検索エンジン, it may help to know that the former honorific is usually written all in hiragana, while the latter is more often written 「重うございます」.

[AJBryant]

What's really unfortunate is that the keigo pattern doesn't match the historical pattern.

眠い　becomes ねむうございます, similar to those -しく adjectives, while 重い becomes おもうございます。

Hm.

眠し and 重し are く-fom adjectives. Damn. This is one of those "Japanese drives me crazy" moments.

Tony

[Mike Cash]

paul_b wrote:

AJBryant wrote:
I should not post at 3 am, that's all there is to it.

Boy do I know that feeling!

Wusses.

I post at 3 a.m. all the time.

Of course....that's when I'm usually starting my day, while I suppose it when you two are on the extreme bleeding edge of having overdone it for the day.