Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 6: 7/13

くなかった Was not, Wasn't (Adjective)

Structure

[い]Adjective[く]+ なかった

Examples:
おもしろ + なかった
(あたら) + なかった

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Adjective

  • Word Type

    Auxiliary Verb

  • Register

    Standard

About い-Adjective くなかった

In order to create the negative past form of い-Adjectives, we will need to use the conjugation form. The conjugation form of an い-Adjective is simply created by removing the い, and replacing it with く. く is then followed by ない (conjugated into its past form なかった), or あります (conjugated into its past negative form ありませんでした).

The polite negative (past) form requires use of the う - Verb, ある. This is not a unique rule for the negative past, but actually the correct way that all く-form conjugations of い-Adjectives should be constructed. However, in modern Japanese, it is not considered necessary. Instead, the semi-polite form is often used.

The semi-polite form is constructed by using なかった, and then simply adding です.

Examples

--:--

    コーヒー(あつ)くなかったです

    The coffee was not hot.

    それ(やす)くありませんでした

    That was not cheap.

    (わたし)(いぬ)(つよ)くなかったです

    My dog was not strong.

    (わたし)(あね)(いえ)(たか)くなかったです

    My (older) sister's house was not expensive.

    漫画(まんが)()のは(むずか)しくなかった

    Reading manga was not difficult.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

い-Adjective くなかった – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • Superpnut

    Superpnut

    Oh that makes a bunch of since thanks for saying it in simple terms so I can understand it

  • Kattosan

    Kattosan

    In example sentences,
    「漫画を読むのは難しくなかった」
    Shouldn’t it be 「難しく」instead of 「難かしく」?

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @Kattosan !

    We have just fixed this! Thank you for letting us know about this!

Got questions about い-Adjective くなかった? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

Join the Discussion