微妙 (bimyou) conjugation
delicate, subtle
微妙 (びみょう, bimyou) is a na-adjective. Na-adjectives behave like nouns. The word itself never changes — you conjugate だ/です after it, and you need な to put it in front of a noun.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~です) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | 微妙だ bimyouda | 微妙です bimyoudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 微妙じゃない bimyoujanai | 微妙じゃないです bimyoujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 微妙だった bimyoudatta | 微妙でした bimyoudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 微妙じゃなかった bimyoujanakatta | 微妙じゃなかったです bimyoujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 微妙で bimyoude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 微妙に bimyouni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 微妙な〜 bimyouna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 微妙なら bimyounara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 微妙だったら bimyoudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 微妙になる bimyouninaru | 微妙になります bimyouninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 微妙すぎる bimyousugiru | 微妙すぎます bimyousugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 微妙そう bimyousou | 微妙そうです bimyousoudesu | “looks / seems ~” from appearance. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese word to hear it spoken.
Why it conjugates this way
Na-adjectives behave like nouns. The word itself never changes — you conjugate だ/です after it, and you need な to put it in front of a noun.
See the full rules in the adjective conjugation guide.