ないでWithout doing, Not ~ and ~

There are two primary ways in which ないで is used with verbs in Japanese. The first is to express 'without doing (A), (B)'. The second is to request that someone 'not do (A)'. We will examine the first in this write-up.

ないで is a combination of the auxiliary verb ない, and the particle で. Due to this, で keeps its standard meaning of 'with/by', in relation to 'not' doing something.

When ないで is used to express that '(A) has not been done before doing (B)', this is usually contrary to some kind of expectation. Because of this, ないで is often used to express something that may be surprising to the listener.

Caution

Be careful of the following two structures:

(A) ないで (B) - Without doing (A), (B).

(A) なくて (B) - Without doing (A), (B).

Technically, these two constructions share a similar meaning. However, in modern Japanese ないで is used more frequently when the (B) action is being highlighted as being done without (A). On the other hand, なくて is used when (A) is being given as a reason for why something else was/wasn't done.