N3 Casual, Colloquial, and Alternative Forms

~ずに: meaning, usage and examples

~ずに means: without... (alternative to ないで).

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

Examples

1. 夫おっとはかさを持もたずに、出でかけました。

   My husband went out without taking his umbrella.

2. 朝あさごはんを食たべずに、学校がっこうに来きた。

   I came to school without eating breakfast.

3. 鈴木すずきさんは辞書じしょを使つかわずに、この本ほんを読よみました。

   Ms. Suzuki read this book without using a dictionary.

4. 先生せんせいに相談そうだんせずに決きめてはいけません。

   You shouldn't decide without talking to your teacher.

When to use it

ずに means "without doing" and works just like ないで: 地図ちずを見みずに駅えきまで行いった = I got to the station without looking at a map. Take the negative form, drop ない, and add ずに. It describes how an action was done, or that one action happened in place of another.

Nuance

ずに is a little more formal and written than ないで, but it is common in speech too. The only irregular form is する -> せずに (not しずに). ずに cannot end a request: say 待またないでください, not 待またずにください.

Compare

ずに vs ないで: same meaning in "without" sentences (朝あさごはんを食たべずに / 食たべないで出でかけた). Only ないで works for requests (行いかないでください). ずに vs なくて: なくて gives a reason (バスが来こなくて遅おくれた = the bus did not come, so I was late), not "without".

Tip: Watch out for する: 勉強べんきょうせずに, never 勉強べんきょうしずに. This is the most common mistake with ずに.