N4 · Verbs
The plain negative
the ない-form
How to say "not" in plain speech: the a-row of a う-verb, the stem of a る-verb, and ない.
The plain negative is the casual counterpart of ません: 行かない "I am not going", 食べない "I do not eat". Like the dictionary form, it ends casual sentences, stands before nouns (使わない部屋 "a room nobody uses") and is the base of patterns such as ないでください and なければならない.
A う-verb moves its last kana to the a row: 書く → 書かない, 待つ → 待たない, 帰る → 帰らない. A verb ending in う takes わ, not あ: 買う → 買わない. A る-verb drops る: 見ない. する becomes しない, and 来る becomes 来ない — read konai, a third reading for the same kanji.
Two things make ない different from the other endings. The negative of ある is simply ない: the regular-looking form is never used. And ない behaves like an i-adjective, so it has forms of its own — なかった for the past, なくて to link, and ないです as a softer, more spoken alternative to ません.
This is also the form that tells you a verb's group for certain. 帰ります and 借ります look alike; 帰らない and 借りない do not. When you are unsure about a verb, its ない-form is the thing to check.
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending
| do not write | 書かない |
| do not buy: う becomes わ | 買わない |
| do not wait | 待たない |
| do not go home | 帰らない |
| do not eat | 食べない |
| do not borrow | 借りない |
| do not do | しない |
| do not come | 来ない |
| there is not: the negative of ある | ない |
The rules one by one
A う-verb moves its last kana to the a row and adds ない.
今日はお酒を飲まない。I am not drinking today.
A verb ending in う takes わない.
そのかばんは買わない。I am not buying that bag.
A る-verb drops る and adds ない.
日曜日は早く起きない。I do not get up early on Sundays.
する becomes しない, 来る becomes 来ない, and ある becomes ない.
今日は時間がない。I have no time today.
ない changes like an i-adjective: なかった, なくて, ないです.
昨日は何も食べなかった。I did not eat anything yesterday.
A closer look
Why a verb in う takes わない
Verbs that end in う today — 買う, 会う, 言う, 使う — once ended in a syllable with a consonant in it. In front of a that consonant survived as w; in front of every other vowel it disappeared, which is why 買います shows no trace of it.
For a learner the history only explains what to do: whenever the a-row form of a verb in う is needed — in the negative now, and later in the passive and the causative — it is わ. 買わない, 言われる and 使わせる all follow from the same fact.
Exceptions and special cases (2)
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the verb is ある
the plain negative is ない, and its past is なかった.
この近くにコンビニはない。There is no convenience store near here.
Instead of a negative of ある, Japanese uses its word for "absent" — the same ない that also follows other verbs. The polite form keeps the regular shape, ありません.
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the verb is 来る
its kanji is read ko in the negative: 来ない.
バスがなかなか来ない。The bus is taking ages to come.
来る changes its vowel through its forms — kuru, kimasu, konai — while the kanji stays the same, so the reading has to be learned form by form.
How to spot it
- 〜ない
- 〜わない
- しない
- 来ない
- ない
- 〜ないです
Example sentences
今夜はテレビを見ない。I am not watching television tonight.
田中さんは今日来ないって。Mr Tanaka says he is not coming today.
冷蔵庫に牛乳がない。There is no milk in the fridge.
あまり使わない言葉です。It is a word people do not use much.
私はたばこを吸わないです。I don't smoke.
どうして何も言わないの？Why aren't you saying anything?
7 more example sentences
明日は会社に行かない。I am not going to the office tomorrow.
今日はだれにも会わない。I am not seeing anybody today.
分からない言葉は辞書で調べます。I look up words I do not understand in a dictionary.
日曜日は仕事をしない。I do not work on Sundays.
彼は約束を守らない。He does not keep his promises.
雨がなかなかやまない。The rain just will not stop.
冬はあまり外で遊ばない。In winter we do not play outside much.
Worth knowing (1)
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ないです and ません
In polite speech both 行きません and 行かないです mean "I do not go". ません is the standard form and the one for writing and formal situations; ないです is common in everyday polite conversation and sounds a little softer. A learner can rely on ません and needs only to recognise the other.
肉はあまり食べないです。I don't eat much meat.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
By the rule, ある would give あらない, and learners who trust the rule produce it. The plain negative of ある is ない on its own. The polite form, ありません, looks regular, so the gap only shows in plain speech — which is exactly where it catches people out.
The a-row plus ない for a う-verb, わ for a verb in う, and plain ない for ある.
Your turn
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