In Japanese, there are exactly three い-adjectives which sometimes think they are な-adjectives when appearing in front of a noun. These adjecives are 大きい and 小さい, which mean big and small respectively, and おかしい, which means funny or strange.
When we write these adjectives in front of a noun, we can write them in two ways, as shown in the table below.
| English | い-form | な-form |
|---|---|---|
| A big car | 大きい 車 | 大きな 車 |
| A small car | 小さい 車 | 小さな 車 |
| A strange car | おかしい 車 | おかしな 車 |
This behavior can only occur in front of a noun. In all other cases, these adjectives are treated as い-adjectives only.
