～ません
Polite way to say “don’t”
You’ll be able to say politely that you don’t or won’t do a particular action.
蓮はコーヒーを飲みません。
ren wa koohii o nomimasen.
What do you think this sentence means?
Ren does not drink coffee.
Say politely that an action does not happen
Use ～ません for the polite non-past negative. It can mean “do not” for habits or “will not” for future plans. The particle を marks what you are drinking or eating. You will learn more about it in the upcoming lessons.
朝ご飯を食べません。
asagohan o tabemasen.
I do not eat breakfast.
Replace ます with ません
Use the same ます-stem and attach ません instead of ます.
食べます → 食べません
tabemasu → tabemasen
eat → do not eat
行きます → 行きません
ikimasu → ikimasen
go → do not / will not go
します → しません
shimasu → shimasen
do → do not do
Three common uses of ～ません
～ません is the polite negative non-past form. It can describe negative habits, general facts or schedules, and future actions that will not happen. Context determines the meaning.
Habit, 朝
朝はコーヒーを飲みません。
asa wa koohii o nomimasen.
I do not drink coffee in the morning.
朝は presents this as a regular habit.
General schedule, 電車
この電車は東京に止まりません。
kono densha wa toukyou ni tomarimasen.
This train does not stop in Tokyo.
The train route makes this a general schedule.
Future action, 明日
明日、学校に行きません。
ashita, gakkou ni ikimasen.
I will not go to school tomorrow.
明日 places the negative action in the future.
朝は牛乳を飲みません。
asa wa gyuunyuu o nomimasen.
I don't drink milk in the morning.
肉を食べません。
niku o tabemasen.
I don't eat meat.
夜はテレビを見ません。
yoru wa terebi o mimasen.
I don't watch TV at night.
15 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.