N2 · Written Japanese
ず and ずに in written Japanese
the written negative ず
An old negative that writing still uses: "did not …, and" and "without doing".
ず is the classical negative, and modern writing keeps it as a joining form. It attaches where ない does — 行かない gives 行かず, 食べない gives 食べず — and the two irregular verbs are once again the ones to watch: する becomes せず, and 来る becomes 来ず.
At a comma, ず、 is the negative partner of the continuative form: where an affirmative clause ends on 行き、, a negative one ends on 行かず、 — "did not go, and …". It often gives a reason as well: 雨が降らず、水が不足している, "there has been no rain, and water is short". Speech would say なくて.
ずに means "without doing" and is the written twin of ないで: 朝ご飯を食べずに出かけた, "went out without having breakfast". Unlike a bare ず, ずに is common in careful speech too.
The mistake, as with ざるを得ない, is する. Learners build しず from しない, and the form is せず: 勉強せずに, 連絡せず. Older phrases built on ず are everywhere and are worth recognising: 思わず, "without meaning to"; 相変わらず, "as ever"; 少なからず, "not a little".
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending
| go (u-verb) | 行かず |
| write (u-verb) | 書かず |
| eat (ru-verb) | 食べず |
| see (ru-verb) | 見ず |
| do (irregular) | せず |
| come (irregular) | 来ず |
| without saying anything | 何も言わずに |
| cannot help laughing | 笑わずにはいられない |
The rules one by one
ず attaches where ない does; する becomes せず and 来る becomes 来ず.
彼は誰にも相談せず、会社を辞めた。He left the company without consulting anyone.
At a comma, ず links a negative clause: "did not …, and".
薬を飲んでも熱が下がらず、病院へ行った。The fever did not go down even with medicine, so I went to the hospital.
ずに means "without doing", the written ないで.
辞書を使わずに新聞が読めるようになった。I can now read the newspaper without a dictionary.
ずにはいられない means "cannot help doing".
その話を聞いて、泣かずにはいられなかった。When I heard the story, I could not help crying.
A closer look
ぬ and ざる, the rest of the family
ず is one form of the classical negative, and two more survive. ぬ stands before a noun in fixed phrases: 見知らぬ人, "a stranger"; 知らぬ間に, "before one knew it"; 思わぬ結果, "an unexpected result". ざる survives mainly in ざるを得ない.
The polite negative ません belongs to the same family: its ん is a worn-down ぬ. Seen together, these forms stop being a list of oddities and become one old negative that modern Japanese still uses in several places.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is ある
the ず-form あらず survives only in fixed phrases; the ordinary written negative link is なく: 問題はなく、….
特に問題はなく、作業は予定どおり進んでいる。There are no particular problems, and the work is on schedule.
Modern Japanese replaces the negative of ある with the adjective ない, and a written link from ない is its く-form.
How to spot it
- ず、
- ずに
- せず
- ずにはいられない
- 思わず
Example sentences
彼は何も言わずに部屋を出て行った。He left the room without a word.
予約が取れず、旅行を諦めた。We could not get a booking, so we gave up on the trip.
原因が分からず、調査が続いている。The cause is not known, and the investigation is continuing.
宿題をせずに学校へ行った。I went to school without doing my homework.
あまりに面白くて、思わず笑ってしまった。It was so funny that I laughed despite myself.
雨にも負けず、選手たちは走り続けた。Undaunted by the rain, the runners kept going.
7 more example sentences
傘を持たずに出かけて、雨に降られた。I went out without an umbrella and got caught in the rain.
誰にも知られず、計画は進められた。The plan went ahead without anyone knowing.
試験に合格できず、来年もう一度受けることにした。I did not pass the exam, so I have decided to take it again next year.
彼女は相変わらず元気そうだった。She seemed as well as ever.
寝ずに勉強するのは体によくない。Studying without sleep is bad for you.
彼は少しも迷わずに答えた。He answered without the slightest hesitation.
その写真を見ると、故郷を思い出さずにはいられない。Whenever I look at that photo, I cannot help thinking of home.
Worth knowing (1)
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Fixed phrases built on ず
Many everyday words are frozen ず-forms, and they read more easily once that is clear: 思わず, "without meaning to"; 相変わらず, "unchanged, as ever"; 少なからず, "not a little"; 知らず知らず, "without realising".
知らず知らずのうちに、日本語で考えるようになっていた。Without realising it, I had started thinking in Japanese.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The negative of する is しない, so しず looks logical, and it is wrong. ず comes from the older language, where the negative stem of する was せ, and it has kept that stem: せず, せずに, and likewise せざるを得ない.
ず sits where ない sits — except that する becomes せず.
Your turn
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