じゃなかった
Meanings
- was not
- wasn't
- didn't turn out to be
About this pattern
Explanation
じゃなかった is the past negative form of じゃない, which itself is the informal version of the copula だ for nouns and na-adjectives. Use じゃなかった to say something “was not” or “wasn't” in the past. It’s common in casual conversation; in more formal speech, you would use じゃありませんでした or ではありませんでした. Typical contexts include reflecting on past facts, correcting someone, or describing a situation that didn't hold true in the past. Remember that じゃなかった only works with nouns and na-adjectives (not i-adjectives).
Learn in context
Example sentences
Yesterday, he wasn't a student.
That shop wasn't famous.
At that time, I wasn't on his side.
This wasn't mine.
She wasn't a doctor.
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View detailsthat; that thing (near the listener); the thing referred to earlier
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