上手 (jouzu) conjugation
be good at, skillful
上手 (じょうず, jouzu) 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 | 上手だ jouzuda | 上手です jouzudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 上手じゃない jouzujanai | 上手じゃないです jouzujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 上手だった jouzudatta | 上手でした jouzudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 上手じゃなかった jouzujanakatta | 上手じゃなかったです jouzujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 上手で jouzude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 上手に jouzuni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 上手な〜 jouzuna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 上手なら jouzunara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 上手だったら jouzudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 上手になる jouzuninaru | 上手になります jouzuninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 上手すぎる jouzusugiru | 上手すぎます jouzusugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 上手そう jouzusou | 上手そうです jouzusoudesu | “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.