綺麗 (kirei) conjugation
pretty, clean, tidy
綺麗 (きれい, kirei) 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 | 綺麗だ kireida | 綺麗です kireidesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 綺麗じゃない kireijanai | 綺麗じゃないです kireijanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 綺麗だった kireidatta | 綺麗でした kireideshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 綺麗じゃなかった kireijanakatta | 綺麗じゃなかったです kireijanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 綺麗で kireide | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 綺麗に kireini | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 綺麗な〜 kireina〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 綺麗なら kireinara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 綺麗だったら kireidattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 綺麗になる kireininaru | 綺麗になります kireininarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 綺麗すぎる kireisugiru | 綺麗すぎます kireisugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 綺麗そう kireisou | 綺麗そうです kireisoudesu | “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.