かわいそう (kawaisou) conjugation
poor, pitiable, pathetic
かわいそう (かわいそう, kawaisou) 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.
Written 可愛そう in kanji, but usually written in kana alone.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~です) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | かわいそうだ kawaisouda | かわいそうです kawaisoudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | かわいそうじゃない kawaisoujanai | かわいそうじゃないです kawaisoujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | かわいそうだった kawaisoudatta | かわいそうでした kawaisoudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | かわいそうじゃなかった kawaisoujanakatta | かわいそうじゃなかったです kawaisoujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | かわいそうで kawaisoude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | かわいそうに kawaisouni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | かわいそうな〜 kawaisouna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | かわいそうなら kawaisounara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | かわいそうだったら kawaisoudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | かわいそうになる kawaisouninaru | かわいそうになります kawaisouninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | かわいそうすぎる kawaisousugiru | かわいそうすぎます kawaisousugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | かわいそうそう kawaisousou | かわいそうそうです kawaisousoudesu | “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.