connective N3 common casualpolitewritten
なしで — without ~
なしで
Meaning
- without ~ — does the action lacking the named thing
Key sentence
彼は辞書なしで新聞を読む。
He reads the newspaper without a dictionary.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + なしで | N なしで | 予約なしで (without a reservation) |
Examples
許可なしで中に入ってはいけない。
You mustn't go inside without permission.
彼女の助けなしでは、成功できなかった。
Without her help, I couldn't have succeeded.
When you can't use it
- Attaches to a *noun* only. For 'without doing' something, switch to the verb forms 〜ないで or 〜ずに (砂糖を入れないで, not 入れるなしで).
Easily confused with
Notes
- Emphatic なしでは ('without ~, … not') and the more formal 〜なしに are related. 〜抜きで is a casual near-synonym ('minus / leaving out': 冗談抜きで).
See なしで in real sentences
Jengo shows なしで 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 Advanced Japanese Grammar.