connective N3 common politewritten
〜なく — without ~ / not ~ (adverbial negative)
〜なく ・ なく
Builds on ない
Meaning
- without ~ / not ~ (and) — the continuative form of the negative ない, linking to the next clause in writing
Key sentence
事故もなく、無事に到着した。
Without any accident, we arrived safely.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Negative + なく (continuative of ない) | Vない→Vなく; Aくない→Aくなく; N が + なく | 問題なく (without problem) |
Examples
彼は誰にも頼ることなく、一人でやり遂げた。
He saw it through alone, relying on no one.
大きな混乱もなく、式は終わった。
The ceremony ended without major confusion.
When you can't use it
- Written/formal — it links clauses mid-sentence (〜なく、…). In speech the same connection is normally 〜なくて or 〜ないで.
Easily confused with
〜ないで Both negate-and-continue, but 〜なく is the written/formal continuative negative (誰にも頼ることなく…), while 〜ないで is the everyday spoken 'without doing / instead of' (頼らないで…). 〜ずに 〜ずに is the classical-flavoured equivalent of 〜ないで ('without ~ing'); 〜なく is the plain continuative of ない used to chain clauses in writing. Related, but ずに modifies a verb adverbially while なく often closes a clause.
Notes
- 〜ことなく ('without ~ing,' formal) is a common fixed extension, and 絶え間なく ('ceaselessly') shows the なく form lexicalized.
See 〜なく in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜なく the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.