JLPT N4 · な-adjective

一生懸命 (isshoukenmei)

一生懸命 (いっしょうけんめい, isshoukenmei) is a Japanese な-adjective meaning “very hard; with utmost effort”. It appears in JLPT N4 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: いっしょうけんめい
Romaji: isshoukenmei
Word class: な-adjective
Level: JLPT N4 (unofficial)

Meaning

very hard; with utmost effort; as hard as one can; with all one's might; for dear life · adverb, な-adjective, noun · four-character idiom

Example sentences

もっと一生懸命勉強すべきだったのに。

You should have worked harder.

Tatoeba #193301

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 一生懸命

な-adjective. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Present (plain)	一生懸命だ	いっしょうけんめいだ isshoukenmeida
Present (polite)	一生懸命です	いっしょうけんめいです isshoukenmeidesu
Negative	一生懸命じゃない	いっしょうけんめいじゃない isshoukenmeijanai
Past	一生懸命だった	いっしょうけんめいだった isshoukenmeidatta
Negative past	一生懸命じゃなかった	いっしょうけんめいじゃなかった isshoukenmeijanakatta
Te-form	一生懸命で	いっしょうけんめいで isshoukenmeide
Before a noun	一生懸命な	いっしょうけんめいな isshoukenmeina
Adverb (~ni)	一生懸命に	いっしょうけんめいに isshoukenmeini