懸命 (kenmei) conjugation
eagerness, strenuous
懸命 (けんめい, kenmei) 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 | 懸命だ kenmeida | 懸命です kenmeidesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 懸命じゃない kenmeijanai | 懸命じゃないです kenmeijanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 懸命だった kenmeidatta | 懸命でした kenmeideshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 懸命じゃなかった kenmeijanakatta | 懸命じゃなかったです kenmeijanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 懸命で kenmeide | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 懸命に kenmeini | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 懸命な〜 kenmeina〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 懸命なら kenmeinara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 懸命だったら kenmeidattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 懸命になる kenmeininaru | 懸命になります kenmeininarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 懸命すぎる kenmeisugiru | 懸命すぎます kenmeisugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 懸命そう kenmeisou | 懸命そうです kenmeisoudesu | “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.