N2 Exclusion and Setting Aside

~ことなく: meaning, usage and examples

~ことなく means: without...

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 彼かれは一言ひとことも言いうことなく、去さって行いった。

   He left without saying a word.

2. 休やすむことなく、働はたらき続つづけた。

   I continued working without rest.

3. 山田やまださんは十じゅう年間ねんかん、一日いちにちも休やすむことなく日記にっきをつけている。

   Ms. Yamada has kept a diary for ten years without missing a single day.

4. 列車れっしゃは大雪おおゆきの中なかでも、遅おくれることなく到着とうちゃくした。

   Even in the heavy snow, the train arrived without delay.

When to use it

Use ことなく to say that something was done without a thing happening that might normally happen, such as stopping, resting, giving up or being delayed. It often praises effort or consistency, as in 一日いちにちも休やすむことなく練習れんしゅうを続つづけた (practiced without missing a single day).

Nuance

Written and formal; common in news, essays and speeches. Often paired with 一度いちども or 一日いちにちも for emphasis. In casual speech people say ないで or ずに instead, which sound lighter and less dramatic.

Compare

ないで and ずに mean "without doing" in daily speech: 朝あさご飯はんを食たべないで出でかけた. ことなく is the formal version and often stresses that something expected did not happen: 迷まようことなく決きめた. 抜ぬきで is used with nouns: 休憩きゅうけい抜ぬきで.

Tip: ことなく = written ずに. Expect it in reading passages together with 一度いちども, 最後さいごまで or 続つづけた.