まれ (mare) conjugation
rare, seldom
まれ (まれ, mare) 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.
Written 稀 in kanji, but usually written in kana alone.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~です) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | まれだ mareda | まれです maredesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | まれじゃない marejanai | まれじゃないです marejanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | まれだった maredatta | まれでした maredeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | まれじゃなかった marejanakatta | まれじゃなかったです marejanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | まれで marede | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | まれに mareni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | まれな〜 marena〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | まれなら marenara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | まれだったら maredattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | まれになる mareninaru | まれになります mareninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | まれすぎる maresugiru | まれすぎます maresugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | まれそう maresou | まれそうです maresoudesu | “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.