〜ずに: 'Without Doing' (Meaning + Examples)
Doing one thing without another
〜ずに describes an action carried out without another action happening. It answers "in what manner?" — you did X without doing Y first (or at all):
ヤッタンは朝ごはんを食べずに学校へ行った。
ヤッタンは あさごはんを たべずに がっこうへ いった。
Yattan went to school without eating breakfast.
モチは何も言わずに帰った。
モチは なにも いわずに かえった。
Mochi went home without saying anything.
弟は宿題をせずに寝てしまった。
おとうとは しゅくだいを せずに ねて しまった。
My little brother fell asleep without doing his homework.
する becomes せずに, not ×しずに.
The feeling is the same as English "without ~ing." It's slightly more formal and literary than the everyday 〜ないで, so you'll see it often in writing, announcements, and careful speech.
Building the form — and where する trips people up
Take the ない-form, drop ない, and attach ずに:
| Verb type | Verb | ない-form | 〜ずに |
|---|---|---|---|
| る-verb | 食べる | 食べない | 食べずに |
| う-verb | 言う | 言わない | 言わずに |
| う-verb | 行く | 行かない | 行かずに |
| Irregular | 来る | 来ない | 来ずに (こずに) |
| Irregular | する | しない | せずに |
The one form worth burning into memory is the する exception: it becomes せずに, not ×しずに. So 勉強する → 勉強せずに, 運動する → 運動せずに. Everything else follows the stem straight off the ない-form, with nothing — no を, no extra particle — wedged in between.
ずに at work in longer sentences
Once the stem is set, ずに slots cleanly into place, whether the "without" action is a one-off or something skipped entirely:
先生は休まずに二時間も話し続けた。
せんせいは やすまずに にじかんも はなしつづけた。
The teacher kept talking for two whole hours without taking a break.
辞書を使わずにこの記事が読めますか。
じしょを つかわずに この きじが よめますか。
Can you read this article without using a dictionary?
モチは傘を持たずに出かけて、雨にぬれた。
モチは かさを もたずに でかけて、あめに ぬれた。
Mochi went out without bringing an umbrella and got soaked in the rain.
ずに, ないで, or なくて?
These three look similar but split into two jobs.
Manner — "without doing": Both 〜ずに and 〜ないで work. 〜ずに is more formal/written; 〜ないで is more conversational. They are interchangeable in meaning here:
- 何も食べずに出かけた = 何も食べないで出かけた ("went out without eating anything").
Cause/reason — "because ... not": For this you need 〜なくて, not ずに. 〜なくて links a reason to a result, often an emotion or a state you couldn't control:
バスが来なくて、遅刻した。
バスが こなくて、ちこくした。
The bus didn't come, so I was late.
Cause/reason → なくて, not ×来ずに.
A quick test: if you can replace "without ~ing" → use ずに/ないで. If the meaning is "because ... didn't" → use なくて.
The bare 〜ず you'll meet in writing
You will also come across 〜ず on its own (without に), used as a literary connective meaning "and not" or "without." It joins clauses in formal or written Japanese:
ヤッタンは諦めず、最後まで頑張った。
ヤッタンは あきらめず、さいごまで がんばった。
Yattan didn't give up and tried hard to the very end.
Bare 〜ず links clauses; common in writing.
In everyday speech you'd more likely say 諦めないで or 諦めずに. Bare 〜ず has a crisp, written tone — useful to recognize, especially in essays, news, and set phrases (e.g. 思わず "involuntarily," 絶えず "constantly").
Traps to sidestep
- Saying ×しずに for する. The irregular form is せずに: 連絡せずに帰った ("left without getting in touch"), never 連絡しずに.
- Using ずに for a cause. "I was sleepy because I didn't sleep" needs なくて (寝られなくて眠い), not 寝られずに眠い. ずに/ないで are for manner, not reason.
- Adding を or extra particles before ずに. It attaches straight to the verb stem: 言わずに (✓), not 言わを ずに.
- Treating ずに as casual slang. It's the opposite — ずに leans formal/written. In relaxed conversation, 〜ないで often sounds more natural.
The short version
- 〜ずに = "without doing": ない-form minus ない, plus ずに.
- する → せずに (irregular); 来る → 来ずに.
- Same meaning as 〜ないで, but more formal/written.
- For "because ... not," use 〜なくて instead.
- Bare 〜ず is a literary connective ("and not / without").
Practice it
Choose the correct 〜ずに form (watch out for せずに) and tell it apart from なくて.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
朝ご飯を＿＿＿学校に行った。
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between 〜ずに and 〜ないで?
They mean the same thing — 'without doing' — but 〜ずに is more formal and written, while 〜ないで is more conversational. 食べずに出かけた and 食べないで出かけた are interchangeable.
Why is it せずに and not しずに?
する is irregular here: its 〜ずに form is せずに. So 勉強せずに ('without studying'), 連絡せずに ('without contacting'). しずに is always wrong.
Can I use 〜ずに to give a reason?
No. ずに describes manner ('without doing'). For a cause ('because ... didn't'), use 〜なくて: バスが来なくて遅刻した ('I was late because the bus didn't come').
What is bare 〜ず without に?
It's a literary connective meaning 'and not / without,' used to link clauses in writing: 諦めず頑張った ('didn't give up and kept trying'). It sounds formal compared with ないで.
Where 〜ずに fits
Don't confuse it with
- 〜っぱなし · N3 — 〜っぱなし attaches to a verb stem to mean leaving something in a state without undoing it (often carelessly) — or something that keeps happening nonstop. Forms and nuance inside.
- Conditional 〜たら · N4 — 〜たら is Japanese's most flexible conditional: just add ら to the plain past. Learn the formation, the 'if/when' meaning, the discovery use, and how it beats ば/と for requests.
More N3 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜ずにはいられない — 〜ずにはいられない means you can't help but do something — an irresistible impulse. Learn the formation, the irregular せずに, the casual 〜ないではいられない, and the nuance vs 〜てしまう.
- なるべく — なるべく is an adverb meaning 'as much as possible' or 'if possible' — making a reasonable effort toward something. Learn how it works, how it pairs with requests and 〜ようにする, and how it differs from できるだけ.
- 〜にはかなわない — 〜にはかなわない attaches to a noun to mean 'cannot compete with' or 'no match for' — 母の料理にはかなわない (nothing beats mom's cooking). It expresses conceding defeat to something clearly superior.
- 〜わけがない — 〜わけがない expresses confident logical denial: 'there's no way' / 'impossible.' Learn the formation, how it differs from わけではない and わけにはいかない, and はずがない.
- 〜わけにはいかない — 〜わけにはいかない means you can't do something for social, moral, or psychological reasons. Learn the form, the double-negative 〜ないわけにはいかない ('have to'), and how it differs from ことができない.
- 〜にとって — 〜にとって marks whose viewpoint an evaluation is made from: 私にとって大切 ('important to me'). Learn the formation, にとっての + noun, and how it differs from として.