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I encountered the word here: 世界で色んな人が食べ物がないから、食べ物を捨ててはならない!と子供の頃から両親 が教えてくれた。

and the 'adjectival' definition in
<https://jisho.org/search/%E8%89%B2%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA>

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**Edit:** Both @Leebo 's and @Aeon Akechi 's answers did answer my question
and were rich of useful information. But I accepted the longest answer.
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2020-08-28T23:57:59.000
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2020-08-30T17:35:39.323
2020-08-30T17:35:39.323
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question
grammar adjectives
Why is 色んな an adjectival and not an adjective?
I think it's because 色ん can't stand its own without な. One can say
「世界には色んな人がいる」, but not 「世界にいる人は色んだ」. (Similar to 小さな, 大きな, おかしな)
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2020-08-29T00:14:46.883
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2020-08-29T00:14:46.883
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answer
It cannot be used as a predicate. It can only come before a noun to directly
modify it, the way that it modifies 人 in the sentence you provided.

So you cannot end a sentence with things like

> ✕～が色んなです。  
>  ✕～は色んな。

Things that are described as adjectives can of course directly modify a word,
but they can also be used as a predicate. For instance, the related word いろいろ
is a な adjective.

So you can say いろいろな～ or you can say ～がいろいろだ
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2020-08-29T00:18:30.500
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answer