GrammarJLPT N5
→ this kind of
This sort of / This kind of
JLPT N5Other (Pre-noun adjectival / Rentaishi)Neutral
こんな is a pre-noun adjectival (連体詞) that means "this sort of" or "this kind of." It is used to describe or characterize a noun by pointing to something that is near the speaker — either physically present or something the speaker has just experienced, is currently experiencing, or is emotionally close to. こんな belongs to the ko-so-a-do demonstrative system in Japanese: こんな (this kind of / near speaker), そんな (that kind of / near listener), あんな (that kind of / far from both), and どんな (what kind of / question). Unlike このような, which is more formal and often used in writing, こんな is natural in both spoken and written Japanese at a neutral register. Because it is a pre-noun adjectival, こんな always comes directly before a noun and does not conjugate — it never takes particles like は or が on its own, nor does it take な or の to connect to a noun.
Examples
Example #1
こんな本は読んだことがない。
Here こんな is used to characterize the book that is in front of the speaker or that the speaker is currently holding or looking at. It conveys the meaning "a book like this" or "this sort of book," indicating that the speaker is referring to the qualities of something nearby or immediately relevant.I have never read this kind of book.
Structures
- Before a noun
- こんな + Noun
Common mistakes
A common mistake is confusing こんな with そんな or あんな. Remember that こんな refers to something near the speaker or something the speaker is currently experiencing, while そんな refers to something near the listener or just mentioned by the listener, and あんな refers to something distant from both. Another frequent error is trying to conjugate こんな or add な or の before a noun — since こんな is already a pre-noun adjectival, it connects directly to a noun without any additional particle (e.g., こんな人 is correct, not こんなな人 or こんなの人). Learners also sometimes use the more formal このような in casual speech where こんな would be more natural, or vice versa, use こんな in formal writing where このような would be more appropriate.
Related
そんなあんなどんなこのようなこういう