卑怯 (hikyou) conjugation
cowardice, meanness, unfairness
卑怯 (ひきょう, hikyou) 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 | 卑怯だ hikyouda | 卑怯です hikyoudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 卑怯じゃない hikyoujanai | 卑怯じゃないです hikyoujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 卑怯だった hikyoudatta | 卑怯でした hikyoudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 卑怯じゃなかった hikyoujanakatta | 卑怯じゃなかったです hikyoujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 卑怯で hikyoude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 卑怯に hikyouni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 卑怯な〜 hikyouna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 卑怯なら hikyounara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 卑怯だったら hikyoudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 卑怯になる hikyouninaru | 卑怯になります hikyouninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 卑怯すぎる hikyousugiru | 卑怯すぎます hikyousugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 卑怯そう hikyousou | 卑怯そうです hikyousoudesu | “looks / seems ~” from appearance. |
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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.