Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 8: 19/22

ずに

Without doing

に can be omitted

Structure

Verb［ない］+ ず(に)

Exceptions:
する ￫ せず(に)

Details

  • Register

    Formal

  • 使用域

    硬い

About ずに

Although it is not considered to be one of the primary 18 auxiliary verbs that are used in modern Japanese, ず is a classical auxiliary verb that has the same role as ぬ, and ない. This role is negating the verb that it is attached to. ずに is simply the addition of the case marking particle に to ず. Together, they mean 'without doing', in a similar way to ないで.
To use ずに, attach it to the indeterminate form of the verb that you wish to express as 'without doing (A)'. This is the same form used with ない.
  • 朝(あさ)ご飯(はん)を食(た)べずに仕事(しごと)に行(い)ったから、仕事(しごと)中(ちゅう)に倒(たお)れた。
    Because I went to work without eating breakfast, I fainted in the middle of my job.
  • 水(みず)を飲(の)まずに運動(うんどう)をしていたから、頭(あたま)が痛(いた)い。
    Because I exercised without drinking water, I have a headache.
ずに is quite a bit more formal than ないで, but still frequently used in modern Japanese. Especially as part of set phrases, like ずにすむ (which we will learn about in another lesson).
Caution
When used with a する verb, する will become せずに, not しずに. Both せ and し are indeterminate forms of する. し, the more common form that is used in east Japan appears with ない.
  • 勉強(べんきょう)せずにテストを受(う)けたから、テストの点数(てんすう)が低(ひく)かった。
    Because I took the test without studying, I got a low score.
  • あんまり無理(むり)をせずに頑張(がんば)ってくださいね。
    Please do your best without trying too hard.

Examples

  • 彼(かれ)は朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べずに仕事(しごと)に行(い)きました。

    He left for work without eating breakfast.

  • 休(やす)まず、一日(いちにち)中(じゅう)ゲームをやり続(つづ)けた。

    Without taking a break, I continued to play video games throughout the day.

  • 試合(しあい)に一回(いっかい)も負(ま)けず、優勝(ゆうしょう)した。

    Without losing a single game, they won the championship.

  • 悩(なや)まずに生(い)きるなんて不可能(ふかのう)なのかもしれない。

    It might not be possible to live without worrying.

  • 肩(かた)の力(ちから)を抜(ぬ)いて、力(りき)まずにスウィングした方(ほう)がいいですよ。

    You'd better relax your shoulder and swing without straining yourself.

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ずに – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

  • cineebon

    cineebon

    The nihongo no mori video has been made private. Does anyone still have access to it?

  • Daru

    Daru

    Seems to me like they still haven’t made the update, but still delisted the old one.
    I’ve replaced it with another resource video, thank you for pointing that out!

  • Pablunpro

    Pablunpro

    Hi!

    Whilst looking into Tae Kim’s online resource, I see that he also includes「くる」as an exception, as it becomes「こず」and not 「くず」.

    Could this be included in the Exceptions or is there any consideration preventing it?

    EDIT: after listening to Tezuka Sensei in the Meshclass video, I’ve realised that my request is not valid, as 「くる」follows the standard pattern, its indeterminate form being 「こ」.

    間違えてすみません。

    良い一日を

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