Grammar Info
N1 Lesson 9: 4/20

ずじまい
ended up not, did not (in the end), never did

originates from the voiced verb[stem] form of しまう. Very often used in past form.

Structure
Verb［ない］+ ず + じまい
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使用域 一般
Information
  • Aずじまい is an expression of regret, used when one ends up not doing what she/he wanted, planned, or had to do. Often used with adverbs like ついに、結局、とうとう. わからずじまい is a common expression.
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A「結局（けっきょく）、やらずじまいで新（しん）学期（がっき）になっちゃったよ。」
B「なにをやらなかったの？」
A「夏休（なつやす）みの宿題（しゅくだい）…」
A: “I ended up not doing it, and the new school term started.”
B: “What did you not do?”
A: “The summer homework...”
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  • Copy Japanese
    • 「宇崎（うざき）さんと映画館（えいがかん）に行（い）こうと思（おも）っていたけど、仕事（しごと）から手（て）が離（はな）せなくて結局（けっきょく）行（い）けずじまいだった。」
    "I planned to go to the cinema with Uzaki, but I couldn’t get away from work, so I ended up not going."
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  • Copy Japanese
    • 《小説（しょうせつ）》事故（じこ）の原因（げんいん）について調（しら）べようとしたが、ついにわからずじまいだった。
    Novel: I tried to investigate the cause of the accident, but I ended up not discovering anything.
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