素直 (sunao) conjugation
obedient, meek, docile
素直 (すなお, sunao) 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 | 素直だ sunaoda | 素直です sunaodesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 素直じゃない sunaojanai | 素直じゃないです sunaojanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 素直だった sunaodatta | 素直でした sunaodeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 素直じゃなかった sunaojanakatta | 素直じゃなかったです sunaojanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 素直で sunaode | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 素直に sunaoni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 素直な〜 sunaona〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 素直なら sunaonara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 素直だったら sunaodattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 素直になる sunaoninaru | 素直になります sunaoninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 素直すぎる sunaosugiru | 素直すぎます sunaosugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 素直そう sunaosou | 素直そうです sunaosoudesu | “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.