のんき (nonki) conjugation
carefree, optimistic, careless
のんき (のんき, nonki) 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 呑気 in kanji, but usually written in kana alone.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~です) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | のんきだ nonkida | のんきです nonkidesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | のんきじゃない nonkijanai | のんきじゃないです nonkijanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | のんきだった nonkidatta | のんきでした nonkideshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | のんきじゃなかった nonkijanakatta | のんきじゃなかったです nonkijanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | のんきで nonkide | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | のんきに nonkini | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | のんきな〜 nonkina〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | のんきなら nonkinara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | のんきだったら nonkidattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | のんきになる nonkininaru | のんきになります nonkininarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | のんきすぎる nonkisugiru | のんきすぎます nonkisugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | のんきそう nonkisou | のんきそうです nonkisoudesu | “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.