What's the difference between 勇ましい, 勇気, and 勇敢?


In English-Japanese dictionaries, they are all defined along the lines of
"brave" or "courageous".

Japanese dictionaries describe all of them more or less as "not fearing
danger", using a phrase similar to「危険や困難を恐れない」for each of them. Adding to my
confusion, they seem to follow a circular logic: the entry for
[勇気](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/223942/meaning/m0u/%E5%8B%87%E6%B0%97/)
uses いさましい; the entry for
[勇ましい](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/10982/meaning/m0u/%E5%8B%87%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%81%84/)
uses 勇敢; and the entry for
[勇敢](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/223934/meaning/m0u/%E5%8B%87%E6%95%A2/)
uses 勇気.

Of the three, 勇気 seems to be the most common while 勇ましい is by far used the
least. On [少納言](http://www.kotonoha.gr.jp/shonagon/), 勇気 had almost 25 times
as many hits as 勇ましい.

Ignoring grammatical differences (I'm aware of their parts of speech), what is
the difference between them? And if they really are close synonyms, how come
勇気 is used so much more than 勇ましい?




勇気 is a noun. It's pronounced 'yuuki'  
勇ましい is a 形容詞 (an adjective, often called an i-adjective in L2 teaching).  
勇敢 is a 形容動詞 (often called a "na-adjective" in L2 teaching but literally an
adjective verb). It's pronounced 'yuukan'  

"He is brave."  
｢彼は勇気がある｣…He has a 勇気  
｢彼は勇敢だ｣ …He is 勇敢  
｢彼は勇ましい｣ …He is 勇ましい  

形容動詞("adjective verbs" or "na-adjectives") and 形容詞("adjectives" or
"i-adjectives") differ in grammatical usage.

勇気 is a kind of spirit.  
勇敢 has an image of fighting men.  
勇ましい shows the state of a person.

I guess 勇気 is used much because it is a noun.




勇気 is a noun. It's pronounced 'yuuki'  
勇ましい is a 形容詞 (an adjective, often called an i-adjective in L2 teaching).  
勇敢 is a 形容動詞 (often called a "na-adjective" in L2 teaching but literally an
adjective verb). It's pronounced 'yuukan'  

"He is brave."  
｢彼は勇気がある｣…He has a 勇気  
｢彼は勇敢だ｣ …He is 勇敢  
｢彼は勇ましい｣ …He is 勇ましい  

形容動詞("adjective verbs" or "na-adjectives") and 形容詞("adjectives" or
"i-adjectives") differ in grammatical usage.

勇気 is a kind of spirit.  
勇敢 has an image of fighting men.  
勇ましい shows the state of a person.

I guess 勇気 is used much because it is a noun.

