密か (hisoka) conjugation
secret, private, surreptitious
密か (ひそか, hisoka) 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 | 密かだ hisokada | 密かです hisokadesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 密かじゃない hisokajanai | 密かじゃないです hisokajanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 密かだった hisokadatta | 密かでした hisokadeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 密かじゃなかった hisokajanakatta | 密かじゃなかったです hisokajanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 密かで hisokade | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 密かに hisokani | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 密かな〜 hisokana〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 密かなら hisokanara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 密かだったら hisokadattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 密かになる hisokaninaru | 密かになります hisokaninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 密かすぎる hisokasugiru | 密かすぎます hisokasugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 密かそう hisokasou | 密かそうです hisokasoudesu | “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.