LEARN + JAPANESE / 19 of 186 JLPT N5
Skip That Part 〜ないで
ないで attaches to a verb’s negative stem and connects two clauses, marking the first action as one that didn’t happen while the second one did. It’s built from ない, which you already know, plus で instead of a full negative ending.
The more formal ずに has the same “without doing” connection: 朝食を食べずに出かけた, “I went out without eating breakfast.” しない changes to せずに. In everyday conversation, ないで is more common; ずに is especially frequent in writing and concise narration.
ことなく is another formal “without doing,” often used in written descriptions: 休むことなく働いた, “worked without taking a break.” It presents the action as a continuing process with no interruption.
I left the house this morning without drinking coffee.
I went to bed without taking a bath.
Hint · 힌트
ないで always describes one event happening in place of, or instead of, another, “did B without doing A.” It isn’t a general-purpose negative connector, it specifically frames the missing action as notable, something you’d normally expect to happen first.
I drink water instead of cola.
Instead of eating out, I cook for myself.
Hint · 힌트
Used with an ongoing habit like this, ないで shifts toward “instead of,” swapping one habitual choice for another rather than describing a single missed event.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to laugh | |
| to take | |
| lunch break | |
| to take a break | |
| to work overtime | |
| to turn on | |
| to put on (pants, shoes) | |
| bicycle | |
| to exercise | |
| gym | |
| instead | |
| by oneself | |
| habit | |
| to eat out | |
| to cook | |
| to choose | |
| to put up with, endure | |
| to omit, skip | |
| to leave out, abbreviate | |
| usually, normally |
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