小柄 (kogara) conjugation
small, diminutive
小柄 (こがら, kogara) 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 | 小柄だ kogarada | 小柄です kogaradesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 小柄じゃない kogarajanai | 小柄じゃないです kogarajanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 小柄だった kogaradatta | 小柄でした kogaradeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 小柄じゃなかった kogarajanakatta | 小柄じゃなかったです kogarajanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 小柄で kogarade | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 小柄に kogarani | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 小柄な〜 kogarana〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 小柄なら kogaranara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 小柄だったら kogaradattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 小柄になる kogaraninaru | 小柄になります kogaraninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 小柄すぎる kogarasugiru | 小柄すぎます kogarasugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 小柄そう kogarasou | 小柄そうです kogarasoudesu | “looks / seems ~” from appearance. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese word to hear it spoken.
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.