高等 (koutou) conjugation
high class, high grade
高等 (こうとう, koutou) 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 | 高等だ koutouda | 高等です koutoudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 高等じゃない koutoujanai | 高等じゃないです koutoujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 高等だった koutoudatta | 高等でした koutoudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 高等じゃなかった koutoujanakatta | 高等じゃなかったです koutoujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 高等で koutoude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 高等に koutouni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 高等な〜 koutouna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 高等なら koutounara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 高等だったら koutoudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 高等になる koutouninaru | 高等になります koutouninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 高等すぎる koutousugiru | 高等すぎます koutousugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 高等そう koutousou | 高等そうです koutousoudesu | “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.