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眠い

ねむい

sleepy, drowsy

i-adjective

Conjugation Table

Present
眠い
Negative
眠くない
Past
眠かった
Past Negative
眠くなかった
Te Form
眠くて
Adverbial
眠く
Conditional
眠ければ
Presumptive
眠いでしょう

Example Sentences

彼はとても眠いです。
He is very sleepy.
Kare wa totemo nemui desu.
昨日、眠かったです。
I was sleepy yesterday.
Kinou, nemukatta desu.
今日は眠くないです。
I'm not sleepy today.
Kyou wa nemukunai desu.

Grammar Notes & Usage Tips

Conjugation Insight:** Since 眠い (ねむい) is an i-adjective, you can easily make it negative by replacing the い with くない, turning it into 眠くない (ねむくない) to mean "not sleepy."
Particle Pairing:** When expressing that someone is sleepy, use the particle が, as in 私は眠いです (わたしはねむいです), meaning "I am sleepy."
Adverbial Form:** To say "sleepily" or "in a sleepy manner," change the い to く, creating 眠く (ねむく), which you can use with verbs. For example, 眠く話す (ねむくはなす) means "to speak sleepily."
Comparative Structures:** When comparing sleepiness, use より to express "more than." For example, 彼は私より眠い (かれはわたしよりねむい) means "He is sleepier than I am."
い-adjective: Conjugates by changing the い ending

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