ずに

Japanese

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ずに [zùní] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA(key): [d͡zɨᵝɲ̟i]

Suffix

ずに • (-zuni) 

  1. to not do something and do something else
    中(なか)田(だ)さんは大(おお)阪(さか)に行(い)かずに京(きょう)都(と)に行(い)った。
    Nakada-san wa ōsaka ni ikazu ni kyōto ni itta.
    Mr. Nakada didn’t go to Osaka; he went to Kyoto.
  2. without doing something
    ナンシーはきのう朝(あさ)ご飯(はん)を食(た)べずに学校(がっこう)へ行(い)った。
    Nanshī wa kinō asagohan o tabezu ni gakkō e itta.
    Nancy went to school yesterday without eating her breakfast.
    辞(じ)書(しょ)を使(つか)わずに読(よ)んでください。
    Jisho o tsukawazu ni yonde kudasai.
    Please read it without using a dictionary.
    一(いち)郎(ろう)は帽(ぼう)子(し)を脱(ぬ)がずに部(へ)屋(や)に入(はい)った。
    Ichirō wa bōshi o nugazu ni heya ni haitta.
    Ichiro entered the room without taking off his hat.
  3. "Verb + ずに + おく": to not do something (in advance); to leave something (in a state) without doing something
    まだあるから買(か)わずにおきました。
    Mada aru kara kawazu ni okimashita.
    Because I still have it, I didn’t buy it (in advance).
    食(た)べずにおいた。
    Tabezu ni oita.
    I left it uneaten.
    (literally, “I left it without eating it.”)

Usage notes
  • In the above sentences, ずに and ないで (nai de) are interchangeable. However, in the following sentences, ないで must be used, because ずに is grammatically incorrect.
    まだ帰(かえ)らないでください。 ― mada kaeranai de kudasai. ― Please don’t go home yet.
    電(でん)話(わ)しないで欲(ほ)しい。 ― denwashinai de hoshī. ― Lit. I want you not to call me. (Fig. Don’t call me.)
    見(み)ないでください。 ― minai de kudasai. ― Please do not look at it.
  • ずに has the exact same formation as ないで in almost all cases. The sole exception is the verb する (suru), which changes from しないで (shinaide) to せずに (sezuni).
  • The difference between ないで and ずに is that ないで is used in informal speech or conversational Japanese, whereas ずに is used in formal speech or written Japanese.
  • For the following sentences in which the ないで clause indicates some cause for human emotion that is expressed in the main clause, なくて (nakute) can replace ないで, but not ずに.
    僕(ぼく)は英(えい)語(ご)が話(はな)せないで恥(は)ずかしかった。 ― boku wa eigo ga hanasenai de hazukashikatta. ― I felt ashamed because I couldn’t speak English.
    スージーが遊(あそ)びに来(こ)ないでほっとした。 ― sūjī ga asobi ni konai de hottoshita. ― I felt relieved because Susie didn’t come to play.
  • For sentences that express the idea of “X is not Y but X,” neither ないで nor ずに can replace なくて.
    私(わたし)は学(がく)生(せい)ではなくて先(せん)生(せい)です。 ― watashi wa gakusei de wa nakute sensei desu. ― I am not a student but a teacher.[1]

Synonyms

References
  1. Makino, Seiichi; Tsutsui, Michio (January 1, 1989), “Main Entries: -nai de”, in A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, 1st edition, 5-4, Shibaura 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan: The Japan Times, →ISBN, pages 271-273
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