臆病 (okubyou) conjugation
cowardice, timidity
臆病 (おくびょう, okubyou) 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 | 臆病だ okubyouda | 臆病です okubyoudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 臆病じゃない okubyoujanai | 臆病じゃないです okubyoujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 臆病だった okubyoudatta | 臆病でした okubyoudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 臆病じゃなかった okubyoujanakatta | 臆病じゃなかったです okubyoujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 臆病で okubyoude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 臆病に okubyouni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 臆病な〜 okubyouna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 臆病なら okubyounara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 臆病だったら okubyoudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 臆病になる okubyouninaru | 臆病になります okubyouninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 臆病すぎる okubyousugiru | 臆病すぎます okubyousugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 臆病そう okubyousou | 臆病そうです okubyousoudesu | “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.