い-adjective
きつい
kitsuiきつい (kitsui) — tough — is an い-adjective: きつかった (past), きつくない (negative), きつくて (te-form), きついです (polite).
It also means hard; severe.
How きつい conjugates · い-adjective
Drop the final い, then add the ending.
Every form is built on the stem きつ. The one that isn't: the polite present, which is the whole word plus です.
きつい
dropsstem + ending
きつかったきつかったpast · It was tough.
きつくないきつくないnegative · It isn't tough.
きつくてきつくてte-form · It's tough and …
きつければきつければif · If it's tough, ...
きついですきついですpolite presentkeeps the い
Every い-adjective works this way. The one exception is いい, which conjugates from its older form よい.
PLAIN
| Form | Conjugation | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| present | きつい kitsui | |
| past It was tough. | きつかった kitsukatta | |
| negative It isn't tough. | きつくない kitsukunai | |
| te-form It's tough and … | きつくて kitsukute | |
| past negative It wasn't tough. | きつくなかった kitsukunakatta | |
| cond. ば If it's tough, ... | きつければ kitsukereba | |
| cond. たら If it turns out tough, ... | きつかったら kitsukattara |
POLITE
| Form | Conjugation | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| present | きついです kitsuidesu | |
| past It was tough. | きつかったです kitsukattadesu | |
| negative It isn't tough. | きつくないです kitsukunaidesu | |
| past negative It wasn't tough. | きつくなかったです kitsukunakattadesu |