健在 (kenzai) conjugation
in good health, well
健在 (けんざい, kenzai) 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 | 健在だ kenzaida | 健在です kenzaidesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 健在じゃない kenzaijanai | 健在じゃないです kenzaijanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 健在だった kenzaidatta | 健在でした kenzaideshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 健在じゃなかった kenzaijanakatta | 健在じゃなかったです kenzaijanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 健在で kenzaide | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 健在に kenzaini | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 健在な〜 kenzaina〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 健在なら kenzainara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 健在だったら kenzaidattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 健在になる kenzaininaru | 健在になります kenzaininarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 健在すぎる kenzaisugiru | 健在すぎます kenzaisugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 健在そう kenzaisou | 健在そうです kenzaisoudesu | “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.