JapaneseJLPT
JLPT N3 grammar · Chapter 21

～ずに

Do something without doing another action

You’ll be able to form ～ずに, including the irregular せずに, and describe an omitted action in a more formal style than ～ないで.

Illustration of the scene described by Because we left the campsite without eating breakfast, I got hungry.
Read it first

朝あさご飯はんを食たべずにキャンプ場じょうを出発しゅっぱつしたので、お腹なかが空すきました。

asagohan o tabezu ni kyanpujou o shuppatsu shita node, onaka ga sukimashita.

What do you think this sentence means?

Because we left the campsite without eating breakfast, I got hungry.

Why it means that

Describe an action performed without another

～ずに means "without doing..." (formal equivalent to ～ないで). It describes an action skipped or omitted while performing another.

Examples

彼かれは何なにも言いわずに帰かえった。

kare wa nani mo iwazu ni kaetta.

He went home without saying anything.

辞書じしょを使つかわずにこの本ほんを読よんだ。

jisho o tsukawazu ni kono hon o yonda.

I read this book without using a dictionary.

How it is built

Replace ない with ずに

Take the verb's negative form (ない-form), drop ない, and attach ずに. Irregular: する becomes せずに (not しずに). Can also appear as plain ず at a clause break.

verb (ない-stem)+ずに
Example

諦あきらめずに最後さいごまで練習れんしゅうを続つづけた。

akiramezu ni saigo made renshuu o tsuzuketa.

Without giving up, I continued practicing until the end.

Compare

～ないで vs ～ずに

Both mean “without doing”. ～ないで is the everyday form. ～ずに means the same but sounds a little more formal, so it is common in writing and careful speech. For する, use せずに.

  • ～ないで, without (everyday)

    傘かさを持もたないで出でかけた。

    kasa o motanaide dekaketa.

    I went out without taking an umbrella.

    Natural in conversation.

  • ～ずに, without (more formal)

    傘かさを持もたずに出でかけた。

    kasa o motazu ni dekaketa.

    I went out without taking an umbrella.

    Same meaning, a little more formal.

Examples

図書館としょかんの本ほんは、カウンターで手続てつづきをせずに持もって帰かえることはできません。

toshokan no hon wa, kauntaa de tetsuzuki o sezu ni motte kaeru koto wa dekimasen.

Library books cannot be taken home without going through the procedure at the counter.

男性だんせいは、拾ひろった財布さいふの中なかのお金かねを一円いちえんも使つかわずに交番こうばんに届とどけたそうです。

dansei wa, hirotta saifu no naka no okane o ichien mo tsukawazu ni kouban ni todoketa sou desu.

Reportedly, the man took the wallet he found to the police box without spending a single yen of the money inside.

風邪かぜをひいたときは、無理むりをせずに、ゆっくり休やすむことが大切たいせつです。

kaze o hiita toki wa, muri o sezu ni, yukkuri yasumu koto ga taisetsu desu.

When you catch a cold, it is important to rest well without overdoing it.

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