You can also express a negative meaning of an i-adjective that happens in the past. In English this is the equivalent to “was not”. Building this form is very similar to the kunai-form. You remove the い (i) at the end of the plain form and add くなかった (kunakatta) to the stem of the i-adjective as described in the following examples:
- 高い => 高- => 高 + くなかった => 高くなかった
- takai => taka- => taka + kunakatta => takakunakatta
| Plain Form | Romaji | Meaning | Negation | Romaji | Meaning |
| 高い | takai | high | 高くなかった | takakunakatta | was not high |
| 安い | yasui | cheap | 安くなかった | yasukunakatta | was not cheap |
| 美味しい | oishii | tasty | 美味しくなかった | oishikunakatta | was not tasty |
| 広い | hiroi | spacious | 広くなかった | hirokunakatta | was not spacious |
| 寂しい | sabishii | lonely | 寂しくなかった | sabishikunakatta | was not lonely |
Example
| Kanji | 昨日の授業はあまり面白くなかったです。 |
| Furigana | きのうのじゅぎょうはあまりおもしろくなかったです。 |
| Romaji | kinou no jugyou wa amari omoshirokunakatta desu. |
| English | Yesterday’s lesson was not very interesting. |
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