The Negative て形: ～なくて & ～ないで
Previously, we learned how to make the て形 in the affirmative (positive sentences), but it is also possible to combine the conjunctive particle ～て with the auxiliary adjective ～ない to create the negative て形. Confusingly, there are two ways to go about this:
- Conjugate ～ない to its ku-type continuative form (連用形), then add ～て.
- Attach ～て directly after ～ない, but it gets voiced as ～で in the process.
With the first method, you get ～なくて. With second method, you get ～ないで. These forms, although etymologically more or less the same, are used in different grammatical circumstances.
～なくて
As we already know how to use ～ない with the various parts of speech, the chart below shows how ～て looks added into the fold.
| Part of Speech | + ～なくて |
| Ichidan Verbs | 見る → 見なくて 食べる → 食べなくて |
| Godan Verbs | 行く → 行かなくて 死ぬ → 死ななくて |
| Sahen | する → しなくて |
| Kahen | 来る → 来なくて |
| Adjectives | 新しい → 新しくなくて |
| Adjectival Nouns | 簡単だ → 簡単［では・じゃ］なくて |
| Noun + Copula | 犬だ → 犬［では・じゃ］なくて |
The ～なくて form is used in the following ways:
i. In listing events, characteristics, or states of being, ～なくて serves as the proper negative て形. Whether things are truly in succession with each other as opposed to holding true at the same time depends on context.
1. このピザはハラペーニョがのっていなくて、美味しくないんですよ。
This pizza doesn’t have jalapenos on it, and it doesn’t taste good.
2. ジムは昔は行っていたけど、結局行かなくてやめてしまった。
I had been going to the gym a long time ago, but I ultimately wouldn’t go and ended up stopping.
3. さっき蛇口を閉めなくて、少し時間が経ったら、なんとクモが一匹中から垂れ落ちた。
Earlier, I didn’t shut the faucet, then after a little while, wouldn’t you know, a spider dropped and fell out from inside it.
4. 猫は視力が【良くなくて・悪くて】、嗅覚が鋭い。
Cats have bad vision [and/but] have a sharp sense of smell.
5. 全然甘すぎなくて、とても美味しくて、飽きられません。
It’s not too sweet all, it’s very delicious, and I can’t get tired of it.
6. アメリカ南部式のスイートティーはねえ、品のいい甘さじゃなくて、ただ甘いんだ！
You see the thing is, American Southern “sweet tea” is not a refined tasting sweet: it’s just sweet.
“X is not Y but Z,” which is an application of this, is only expressed with ～なくて.
ii. Causal relations in which the inaction stated in the first clause is responsible for what happens in the second clause. The purpose of choosing ～なくて instead is to show how consequential the flow of events is.
7. セスは学生ではなくて先生だ。
Seth is not a student but a teacher.
8. バスが来なくて遅刻しました。
The bus didn’t come, and (so) I was late.
9. 友だちが来なくて、困りました。
My friend didn’t come, and (so) I was upset.
10. 過去問を一切勉強しなくて、不合格になりました。
I didn’t study past problems at all, and (so) I got a failing score.
11. お金がなくてお酒を飲みに行けない。
I don’t have money, and (so) I can’t go drinking.
An important application of this usage is ～なくてよかった (glad that X didn’t happen).
12. 雨が降らなくてよかった。
I’m glad that it didn’t rain.
13. 僕、女の子じゃなくて本当によかったと思う1。
I’m really glad that I’m not a girl.
It is from this meaning that the patterns for “must” come from. These double negative structures utilize ～なくて’s role of marking the action/state that Y relies upon to be true.
| Informal | ～なくてはだめ |
| Neutral | ～なくてはいけない |
| Formal/Stern | ～なくてはならない |
～ては may contract to ～ちゃ in casual speech. This contraction may lessen the tone but not so much the severity behind the meaning of “must.” As for the use of the particle は, it highlights the negative element of the statement.
14. なぜ戦争で死ななくてはならないのか？
Why is it that you must die in war?
15. 規則を守らなくてはいけない。
You/we must follow the rules.
16. 人の一倍2、時間をかけて勉強しなく【ては・ちゃ】だめだよ。
You gotta put in twice the effort as others and take the time to study.
～ないで
The most profound difference between ～なくて and ～ないで is that ～ないで only attaches itself to verbs. Meaning, it is not allowed with adjectival or nominal predicates.
| Verb Class | + ～ないで |
| Ichidan Verbs | 見る → 見ないで 食べる → 食べないで |
| Godan Verbs | 行く → 行かないで 死ぬ → 死なないで |
| Sahen | する → しないで |
| Kahen | 来る → こないで |
～ないで means “without doing X” in its basic understanding. This requires that X be a volitional verb. In doing so, it can serve three different yet interrelated nuances.
i. X is the means by which you do Y, but X happens to be in the negative. Sometimes X is ancillary in nature to Y, while other times Y happens in succession of X not happening. Oftentimes, it is further implied that not doing X is against expectation.
※Nuance i is NOT shared with ～なくて.
17. 寝ないで待つ。
Wait without sleeping.
18. 歯磨きをしないで寝る癖だけは直せない。
Sleeping without brushing my teeth is the one habit I can’t break myself of.
19. きょうは電車に乗らないで、歩いてきました。
I came by walking instead of riding the train today.
20. 辞書を｛使わないで・引かないで｝、手紙を書いた。
I wrote a letter without using a dictionary.
21. 家の中でクーラーをつけないで過ごしています。
I’m getting by indoors without having the air conditioner on.
22. 今朝、玄関のドアを閉めないで出ていってしまった。
I ended up leaving this morning without locking the front door.
23. 長男が宿題をやらないで学校に行ってみた！
My oldest son tried going to school without doing his homework!
24. 電車の中で吊り革に掴まらないでしっかり立てなくて、転んでしまった。
I couldn’t stand firmly without grabbing the straps inside the train, and (so) I fell over.
25. うちの子は、8歳なのに自転車に補助輪を付けないで乗れないのよ。
Even though my kid is 8, (he/she) still can’t ride (his/her) bicycle without training wheels.
Nuance i gives rise to various speech modals in which auxiliary verbs such as ～ください, (polite command), ～くれ (crude command), ～ほしい (wish to the listener), ～もらう (request from the listener), ～おく (leave as) attach. In any case, ～ないで’s role is to emphasize that X does not happen. In the case of commands, the auxiliary can be dropped, leaving ～ないで by itself to serve said role.
26. 今度忘れないでくださいね。
Don’t forget next time.
27. 朝ご飯を食べないでおこう3。
I’ll go without eating breakfast.
28. 飛行機に子供を乗せないでもらいたいです。
I’d like for kids not to be put on airplanes.
29. タバコを吸わないでほしい。
I want you to not smoke.
ii. ～ないで may also mean “instead of” when action X is what you should be doing, but instead you are doing Y. X is the opposite of Y, and ～ないで contrasts them.
※Nuance ii is NOT shared with ～なくて.
30. 宿題をしないで遊んでばかりいる学生が嫌いだ。
I hate students who only have fun instead of doing their homework.
31. お酒を飲まないで、働いた。
I worked instead of drinking alcohol.
32. ローサさんは、メキシコに行かないで、カリフォルニアに行きました。
Rosa-san went to California instead of going to Mexico.
Nuance ii may be expanded to more complex sentences in which each clause has a different agent (doer). In each clause, what the agent does not do is contrary to the speaker’s expectation. If two inactions are merely being compared and placed next to each other with no implicit misgivings towards the agents, then only ～なくて becomes grammatical.
33. ローサさんは仕事に行かないでレイアンさんも仕事に行かなかった。
Rosa-san didn’t go to work, and Raeann-san also didn’t go to work.
34. レイアンさんは朝ご飯を食べなくて、ラファエル君は夕ご飯を食べなかった。
Raeann-san didn’t eat breakfast, and Rafael-kun didn’t eat dinner.
iii. ～ないで may also indicate a causal relation, but unlike ～なくて, it is paired with volitional verbs only. The result Y happens from the agent (doer) not doing X.
Nuance iii ～ないで does happen to overlap with ～なくて. If you use ～ないで, you are emphasizing the dynamic/verbal element(s) of the sentence. There is a sort of impulse about the statement – the consequence of purposeful inaction is what brings about Y. If you use ～なくて, you are emphasizing the static/adjectival element(s) of the sentence – not doing X, or X not happening, consequentially brings about Y.
35. 遊び過ぎて過去問を一切勉強【しないで・しなくて】不合格になった。
I had too much fun, didn’t study at all, and ended up failing (as a result).
36. 日本語の宿題を【しないで・しなくて】セス先生に叱られました。
I got scolded by Seth Sensei for not doing my Japanese homework.
37. 全然停止線に【気づかないで・気づかなくて】パトカーに呼び止められた。
I was stopped by a squad car for not paying any attention to the stop line.
It may seem contradictory to the notion of “volition” that 気づく can work with ～ないで as seen in Ex. 37. Indeed, it has far less “volition” involved than other verbs, but when a speaker does use 気づく, there is a hope that one may pay attention to the matter at hand. Meanwhile, we seen in Ex. 38 that a verb that truly lacks any sort of volition really is ungrammatical with ～ないで.
38. 時間が【足りないで X・足りなくて 〇】間に合わなかった。
There wasn’t enough time, and (so) I couldn’t make it.
Conversely, there still are grammar circumstances where both are plausible if the verbal predicate is more or less equal dynamic or static in nature based on individual interpretation. One such situation is ～なくて済む vs ～ないで済む. Both refer to being able to get by without doing X. In Ex. 39, the speaker did not actively seek to go shopping. So, while the verb 買う requires that the speaker be an active agent, the “active” nature is not really felt given the circumstances. This allows for ～なくて済む to be used. Meanwhile, In Ex. 40, both are still possible, but the likelihood of ～ないで済む is far higher because of how “quitting one’s job,” would likely involve some degree of the agent’s will over the situation.
39. お母さんが食料をいっぱい送ってくれているので、半年くらい買いに｛行かなくて・行かないで｝済んでいる。
My mother keeps sending me lots of food, so I’ve gotten by for half a year without shopping for any.
40. 会社を｛辞めないで ◎・辞めなくて 〇｝済むことなら、なんとかします。
If it’s something where I can get by without quitting my job at the company, I’ll figure it out.
～なくてもいい VS ～ないでもいい
Having come this far, if asked which negative て形 is used to say “it’s okay not to do X,” you might choose ～なくて but hesitate because of how ～ないで can show negative commands. In fact, there is good reason to assume that there might be overlap in this regard too. In Standard Japanese, however, only ～なくてもいい is recognized, rendering ～ないでもいい dialectal.
41. 無理にお酒を飲まなくてもいい。
It’s okay to not force yourself to drink.
42. 分からなくてもいい。
It’s okay not to understand.
43. 見ないでもええん4ちゃうか？ (Kansai Dialect)
Isn’t it perfectly alright not to watch it, then?
- ～と思う is frequently added as a sentence softener to avoid saying what would otherwise be a straightforward, declarative opinion made by the speaker. ↩︎
- 一倍 confusingly may also mean “twice as much,” being synonymous with 二倍, but its presence is rather limited to set phrases in practical use such as in 人（の）一倍 ↩︎
- ～ないでおこう is a combination of three grammatical patterns. ～ないで establishes “without doing…,” ～ておく establishes “going ahead and leaving the situation as is,” and ～う (which attaches to the 未然形 but with a vowel shift from /a/ to /o/) denotes volition (desire to commit the act). ↩︎
- ～ん, here, is the particle の, turning [見ないでもええ] into a nominal expression. ↩︎