生真面目 (kimajime) conjugation
serious, sincerity
生真面目 (きまじめ, kimajime) 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 | 生真面目だ kimajimeda | 生真面目です kimajimedesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 生真面目じゃない kimajimejanai | 生真面目じゃないです kimajimejanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 生真面目だった kimajimedatta | 生真面目でした kimajimedeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 生真面目じゃなかった kimajimejanakatta | 生真面目じゃなかったです kimajimejanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 生真面目で kimajimede | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 生真面目に kimajimeni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 生真面目な〜 kimajimena〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 生真面目なら kimajimenara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 生真面目だったら kimajimedattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 生真面目になる kimajimeninaru | 生真面目になります kimajimeninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 生真面目すぎる kimajimesugiru | 生真面目すぎます kimajimesugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 生真面目そう kimajimesou | 生真面目そうです kimajimesoudesu | “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.