地味 (jimi) conjugation
quiet, plain, conservative
地味 (じみ, jimi) 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 | 地味だ jimida | 地味です jimidesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 地味じゃない jimijanai | 地味じゃないです jimijanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 地味だった jimidatta | 地味でした jimideshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 地味じゃなかった jimijanakatta | 地味じゃなかったです jimijanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 地味で jimide | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 地味に jimini | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 地味な〜 jimina〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 地味なら jiminara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 地味だったら jimidattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 地味になる jimininaru | 地味になります jimininarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 地味すぎる jimisugiru | 地味すぎます jimisugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 地味そう jimisou | 地味そうです jimisoudesu | “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.