ないで
- 1Without doing X: the main action happens in a state where X is not done.Ex. 1
- 2Instead of doing X: X is not done, and a different action is done in its place.Ex. 2
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A very common, neutral pattern used in both conversation and writing to describe doing one thing without, or instead of, doing another. ずに expresses the same idea in a more formal or written style. The clause with ないで typically comes before the main verb and describes how or in place of what the main action was done.
Learners sometimes use ないで to give a reason; use なくて instead for cause, as in 'because I didn't…'.
Note that ないで at the end of a sentence, as in 見ないで, is a casual request meaning 'don't', not 'without'.
- ずにN3「ずに」 has the same two meanings as 「ないで」 — 'without doing' and 'not doing and instead...' — and the two are interchangeable, but 「ずに」 is more formal and concise; with する it becomes 「せずに」; it cannot directly attach to 「ください」, so for requests use forms like 「ずにいてください」.
- なしにN2「なしに」 attaches only to nouns and sounds more formal. For the 'without doing' meaning it is similar, e.g. 「休みなしに」 ≈ 「休まないで」. For expressing a necessary condition, it commonly takes the form 「なしには」 + negative; 「ないで」 followed by a negative can express something similar.
- ないでくださいN5「ないでください」 is used at the end of a sentence to politely ask someone not to do something; when 「ないで」 appears alone at the end of a sentence, it is a colloquial shortening of it with a more casual tone. When 「ないで」 means 'without doing' or 'not doing and instead...', it links to a following action and cannot be replaced by 「ないでください」.
- ながら / いながら / ながらもN3「ながら」 indicates two actions happening simultaneously, while 「ないで」 indicates that the first action does not occur, so the two are not interchangeable. 「ながら(も)」 can also express contrast ('although... yet...') and can attach to adjectives and nouns.
- ならN4「なら」 takes a situation or the listener's intention as a premise to state a judgment or give advice, meaning 'if...'; 「ないで」 indicates not doing the first action. 「なら」 can attach to verbs, adjectives, and nouns, so the two are not interchangeable.
ずに and なしに share the meaning 'without' but are more formal and written, with なしに often following nouns, and ないでください is a request meaning 'please don't'. ながら describes doing two actions at the same time, and なら is a conditional meaning 'if'; neither expresses not doing something.
