残念 (zannen) conjugation
regret; regrettable
残念 (ざんねん, zannen) 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 | 残念だ zannenda | 残念です zannendesu | The form you look up. Also the casual “is ~”. |
| Negative | 残念じゃない zannenjanai | 残念じゃないです zannenjanaidesu | “is not ~”. |
| Past | 残念だった zannendatta | 残念でした zannendeshita | “was ~”. |
| Past negative | 残念じゃなかった zannenjanakatta | 残念じゃなかったです zannenjanakattadesu | “was not ~”. |
| Te-form | 残念で zannende | — | Links to the next clause: “~ and …”. |
| Adverb | 残念に zannenni | — | Turns it into “~ly”, describing a verb. |
| Before a noun | 残念な〜 zannenna〜 | — | How it attaches when it modifies a noun. |
| Conditional (~ば/なら) | 残念なら zannennara | — | “if it is ~”. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 残念だったら zannendattara | — | “if / when it is ~”. The everyday conditional. |
| Become (~なる) | 残念になる zannenninaru | 残念になります zannenninarimasu | “becomes ~” — the change-of-state form. |
| Too much (~すぎる) | 残念すぎる zannensugiru | 残念すぎます zannensugimasu | “too ~”. |
| Looks ~ (~そう) | 残念そう zannensou | 残念そうです zannensoudesu | “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.