ずに
- 1Without doing ~; the main action happens with another expected action, such as eating breakfast, left undone.Ex. 1
- 2Without doing ~ while performing the main action; the ずに clause describes the manner in which someone acted.Ex. 2
- 3Instead of doing ~; one action is taken in place of another.
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ずに has the same basic meaning as ないで but sounds slightly more formal and written, though it is also common in speech. It links two actions, with the ずに clause describing the condition or manner in which the main action happens. It is frequent in narration and in descriptions of how someone behaved.
Do not say しずに for する verbs; the correct form is せずに, as in 勉強せずに.
Do not attach ください to ずに; for requests say 食べないでください, not 食べずにください.
Note that ずに normally links to a following clause, though phrases like 無理せずに can stand alone as advice when the rest is understood.
- ないでN3「ないで」 has the same two meanings as 「ずに」 and the two are interchangeable; it is neutral in register and common in both conversation and writing. 「する」 becomes 「しないで」, and 「ないで」 can directly take 「ください」, or stand alone at the end of a sentence in speech as a request.
- ことなくN2「ことなく」 attaches to the dictionary form and covers only the “without doing” meaning of 「ずに」. It often pairs with 「一度も」 or 「1日も」 to stress that something that could have happened never did, and is more formal than 「ずに」—it sounds stiff for everyday trivial matters.
- なしにN2「なしに」 attaches only to nouns, while 「ずに」 attaches to verbs. In the “without doing” sense they are close, e.g. 「連絡なしに」 ≈ 「連絡せずに」; 「なしに」 can also take the form 「なしには」 + negative to express a necessary condition. In register, 「なしに」 is neutral while 「ずに」 leans written/formal.
- ずじまいN1「ずじまい」 emphasizes that in the end something was never accomplished, often with a sense of regret; it typically ends sentences as 「ずじまいだ／で終わる」 and can also link to a following clause as 「ずじまいで」. It is neutral in register, takes the same conjugation as 「ずに」 (「する」→「せ」), and cannot be swapped with it.
- ままN4「まま」 centers on a state persisting unchanged; it attaches to the ta-form or nai-form of verbs, and to adjectives and nouns, and is neutral in register. 「ないまま」 is close to both meanings of 「ずに」 and is often interchangeable, but it puts more emphasis on the state of not having done something continuing.
ないで has the same meaning but is more colloquial and can form requests (ないでください), ことなく is more formal and often stresses that something expected does not happen, and なしに typically follows nouns (断りなしに). ずじまい means one ended up never doing something at all, while まま stresses that a state stays unchanged as something else happens.
