For 面白い, why is the noun form commonly 面白 instead of 面白さ? Isn't さ supposed to
be the way to take i-adjectives and make them nouns?
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2021-12-07T01:12:44.370
91504
2021-12-10T04:13:58.120
2021-12-07T09:03:28.493
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question
nouns nominalization
I-Adjective nominalization
There is no usage, as far as I know in the modern Standard Japanese, of
面白【おもしろ】 itself as a noun.

面白さ is a true noun deriving from the adjective 面白い. It means "fun" or
"interestingness".

面白 is just a form 面白い minus conjugable い. It is called "adjective stem"
(形容詞語幹) in the Japanese grammar, that does not work as noun; actually not able
to become a word, but only makes a non-final affix of a word that carries the
meaning, mostly you see in a way like " _perma_ death" or " _insta_ kill". (In
this case often written in hiragana or katakana to mark a vernacular vibe.)

> おもしろ動画 "lolvideo" → _funny(-est) video_  
>  おもしろ装置 "loldevice" → _funny (and often useless) machine_

Of course there are also more conventional words made with it, including
面白おかしい "fun-o-hilarious; sidesplitting", 面白がる "find amused", and
aforementioned 面白さ.
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2021-12-10T04:13:58.120
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answer