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苦い

にがい

bitter

i-adjective

Conjugation Table

Present
苦い
Negative
苦くない
Past
苦かった
Past Negative
苦くなかった
Te Form
苦くて
Adverbial
苦く
Conditional
苦ければ
Presumptive
苦いでしょう

Example Sentences

このお茶は苦いです。
This tea is bitter.
Kono o-cha wa nigai desu.
昨日飲んだ薬は苦かったです。
The medicine I took yesterday was bitter.
Kinō nonda kusuri wa nigakatta desu.
コーヒーは苦くないですか?
Isn't the coffee bitter?
Kōhī wa nigakunai desu ka?

Grammar Notes & Usage Tips

Basic Conjugation**: 苦い (にがい) is an i-adjective, so to make it negative, simply drop the い and add くない, becoming 苦くない (にがくない) for "not bitter."
Past Tense**: To express "was bitter," change 苦い to 苦かった (にがかった) by replacing the い with かった, keeping it simple by following standard i-adjective rules.
Before a Noun**: When describing a noun, you can directly place 苦い before it, like in 苦いコーヒー (にがいコーヒー) for "bitter coffee," without needing any particles.
Using with Particles**: When using 苦い in a sentence with particles, remember it typically follows standard grammatical structures, like 苦いです (にがいです) for politeness, or 苦いから (にがいから) to mean "because it's bitter."
い-adjective: Conjugates by changing the い ending

Related Adjectives