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A dictionary lists 最高 as being both a no-adjective and na-adjective. I've also
seen other examples of this. However, is there a difference between using it
either form since they're both attached to nouns?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-20T19:13:37.293
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2017-10-15T14:56:51.813
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grammar na-adjectives
Is there a difference between 最高の and 最高な?
I found the following in _A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar:_

> No-adjectives are just like nouns in terms of their syntactic rules (e.g.
> they require _no_ when they modify nouns), but they cannot be marked by case
> particles such as _ga_ and _o._ In other words, they are not nouns. The only
> syntactic difference between _na_ -adjectives and _no_ -adjectives is that
> _na_ -adjectives take _na_ before nouns whereas _no_ -adjectives take _no._
>
> However, some words can take either _na_ or _no,_ as shown below:
>
> 特別｛な/の｝治療｛ちりょう｝(special treatment)
>
> 様々｛な/の｝衣装｛いしょう｝(various costumes)

So in short, the meaning of the adjective does not change between the use of な
or の。 Directly answering your question, 最高の and 最高な have the same meaning, and
the usage is the same as well. However, if there are nuances on when to use な
over の, I don't know them. I suspect that only those who have studied Japanese
for a long time would know the nuances, if there are any.

Below, I will include a few attached pictures where I found this information.
It's an interesting and fantastic read when studying adjectives!

[![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xVG8F.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xVG8F.jpg)
[![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pCZQS.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pCZQS.jpg)
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2017-06-20T23:23:38.593
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2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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Basically you should stick to 最高の～. Personally I feel 最高な～ sounds slightly
peculiar.

In BCCWJ, there are 2410 examples of `最高の`, and only less than 20 examples of
`最高な + noun`. As for the meaning, I see no difference. All the examples of
`最高な + noun` in BCCWJ seemed safely interchangeable with `最高の`.
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2017-06-21T05:54:53.550
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2017-06-21T05:54:53.550
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Based on [this
paper](http://petit.lib.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp/G0000006y2j2/file/18338/20110328161801/C060034000009.pdf),
which is about differences in the use of language between native speakers and
Chinese students of Japanese, it appears to be a prime example of how language
gradually changes over time.

I don't have time to read the entire paper, but the section relevant to this
question mentions that "最高の" is the one listed in Japansese dictionaries
(国語辞典) and the more natural of the two. It also states:

>
> 同調査における「最高」の選択傾向でも、母語話者100名中「最高な(5名)」「最高の(80名)」「最高な/の(両方・15名)」のように、使用が分かれる結果であった。

It then goes on to note that between those who use "な" and those who swing
both ways, one out of five native speakers consider "な" acceptable, and may be
influencing such usage among non-native learners.

I only skimmed through very briefly, but I didn't see any mention of
differences in meaning or nuance between the two.
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2017-06-21T08:55:32.207
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2017-06-21T08:55:32.207
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To complement the existing answers:

  * When modifying nouns, some words normally only take の (like 病気), some only な (like 静⁠か), and some accept both (like 特別).
  * Among the ambivalent words, some have a preference (最高の is _much_ more frequent than 最高な, while イレギュラー prefers な to の); others vary a lot between な and の (随分、 ダメダメ、オリエンタル、ルーズ).
  * Also, in some words the choice of particle (that is, the choice between noun and adjective forms) does matter for the meaning: 平和な国 "a peaceful country" vs. 平和の国 "The Country of Peace". For others, it doesn't seem to affect it clearly: 真っ黒な靴 = 真っ黒の靴 = "pitch-black shoes". According to Satoshi Uehara な makes it feel more like a matter of degree, a gradable 'quality'; while の makes it feel more like a binary, on/off 'thing'. I think it's a pretty subtle effect.

Sources: Uehara's _Syntactic Categories in Japanese_ ; and the Japanese
wikipedia as a corpus.
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2017-06-21T09:23:51.003
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