〜抜きで: 'Leaving Out / Without' (Meaning + Examples)
Cutting something out on purpose
Use 〜抜きで when a person deliberately omits something expected — formalities, jokes, a particular person — before doing the main action.
モチは冗談抜きで、本当に困っているんです。
モチは じょうだんぬきで、ほんとうに こまっているんです。
Mochi isn't joking around — he's genuinely in trouble.
冗談抜きで = 'jokes aside', a common set phrase.
やったんは前置き抜きで、早速本題に入りましょうと言った。
やったんは まえおきぬきで、さっそく ほんだいに はいりましょうと いった。
Yattan said, 'Let's skip the preamble and get straight to the point.'
モチ抜きでこの計画を進めるなんて考えられない。
モチぬきで この けいかくを すすめるなんて かんがえられない。
I can't imagine moving this plan forward without Mochi.
Here 抜きで excludes a person, not just an activity.
Attaching to a noun
〜抜きで follows a noun directly — a topic, ritual, or person to be excluded. The particle can shift to は or の depending on emphasis.
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract noun (ritual/topic) | N + 抜きで | 冗談抜きで話す |
| Person | N + 抜きで | 彼抜きでは決められない |
| Noun-modifying | N + 抜きの + N | お世辞抜きの意見 |
お世辞抜きで言うと、この作品は素晴らしい。
おせじぬきで いうと、この さくひんは すばらしい。
Flattery aside, this work is wonderful.
お世辞抜きで = 'without flattery', i.e. 'honestly'.
Don't confuse with 〜なしで
〜なしで also means "without," but it's more neutral and can apply to anything absent by default, not necessarily something being deliberately removed — 傘なしで出かけた ("went out without an umbrella," simply didn't have one). 〜抜きで carries the stronger sense of actively excluding something that would normally be part of the picture, which is why it pairs naturally with abstract nouns like 冗談 or 前置き rather than physical objects.
The short version
- 〜抜きで = "leaving out / without" — deliberately excluding something normally present.
- Attaches to: Noun + 抜きで (also 抜きは, 抜きの + noun).
- Nuance/register: implies a conscious choice to omit; common in set phrases like 冗談抜きで.
- Don't confuse with: 〜なしで, a more neutral "without [something you don't have]."
Practice it
Choose 抜きで when something normally present is being deliberately left out.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
＿＿＿、本当に困っているんです。
Where 〜抜きで fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜について · N3 — 〜について marks the topic you talk, think, or write about: 日本の文化について話す. Learn the form, the についての + noun pattern, についても, and how it differs from に関して.
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
More N2 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜抜く — 抜く as a main verb means 'to pull out/extract' — 栓を抜く (pull out a stopper). Attached to a verb's ます-stem, it becomes a suffix meaning 'do all the way through despite difficulty' — 生き抜く (survive to the end), やり抜く (see it through).
- 〜おまけに — おまけに is a sentence-connecting conjunction meaning 'to make matters worse', 'on top of that', or 'what's more'. It piles a second unwelcome fact onto an already bad situation described in the previous sentence.
- せいぜい — せいぜい is an adverb meaning 'at most,' 'at best,' or 'only' — せいぜい100ドル足らず ('at most, barely 100 dollars'). It caps an estimate at its upper limit, usually implying that limit is smaller or less impressive than expected.
- 〜て以来 — 〜て以来 attaches to the て-form of a one-time past event to mean 'ever since...' — 日本に来て以来、毎日が楽しい. It marks a turning point after which a new state has continued unbroken.
- 〜と同時に — 〜と同時に attaches to a plain-form verb or noun to mean 'at the same time as / as soon as' — ベルが鳴ると同時に生徒が出た. It links two events happening simultaneously, or one triggering the other instantly.
- 〜ところだった — 〜ところだった means something almost happened but was narrowly avoided — 'I was just about to / I almost did.' It attaches to the dictionary form of a verb and often follows a close call like あぶない or もう少しで.