残酷 (zankoku) conjugation
cruelty, harshness
残酷 (ざんこく, zankoku) 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 | 残酷だ zankokuda | 残酷です zankokudesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 残酷じゃない zankokujanai | 残酷じゃないです zankokujanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 残酷だった zankokudatta | 残酷でした zankokudeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 残酷じゃなかった zankokujanakatta | 残酷じゃなかったです zankokujanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 残酷で zankokude | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 残酷に zankokuni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 残酷な〜 zankokuna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 残酷なら zankokunara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 残酷だったら zankokudattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 残酷になる zankokuninaru | 残酷になります zankokuninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 残酷すぎる zankokusugiru | 残酷すぎます zankokusugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 残酷そう zankokusou | 残酷そうです zankokusoudesu | “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.