JLPT N4 Grammar – The Difference between “～なくて” and “～ないで”

Table of Contents

1. The difference between “〜なくて” and “〜ないで”
2. AなくてB
3. AないでB
4. Let’s Compare
5. Summary
6. Quiz
7. Similar Articles
8. Comments

Q: Is the sentence “傘かさを持もたなくて出でかけました” incorrect?

A: In this case, “傘かさを持もたないで出でかけました” is the correct expression.
There are two key points:
• “〜なくて” is used to show a reason or cause (an A→B causal relationship).
• “〜ないで” means doing B without performing action A (a choice or continuation of an action).
Understanding this difference greatly changes how natural your sentence sounds.

AなくてB (JLPT N4)

[Meaning]
B happens due to the reason or cause of A

[Rules]
A: [V] Verb ない formい＋なくて
　 [A] い Adjectiveい＋くなくて
　 [Na] な Adjectiveな＋じゃなくて
　 [N] Noun＋が＋なくて
B: Words expressing feelings, such as “よかった” (glad) or “残念ざんねんだ” (it’s a shame), are often used.

[Examples]
コーヒーが苦手にがてなら、飲のまなくていいですよ。
If you don’t like coffee, you don’t have to drink it.

家族かぞくに会あえなくてさみしいです。
I miss my family because I can’t see them.

リーさんが来これなくて残念ざんねんです。
It’s a shame that Lee can’t come.

This expression mainly indicates a cause-and-effect relationship where “B happened because of A.”
It is often used with adjectives or verbs that describe a state.

[Examples]
雨あめが降ふらなくてよかったです。
I am glad it didn’t rain.
⇒ The reason for feeling “glad” is “because it didn’t rain.”

お金かねがなくて買かえませんでした。
I couldn’t buy it because I didn’t have money.
⇒ The reason for “not buying” is “because I didn’t have money.”

AないでB (JLPT N4)

[Meaning]
Doing B without doing A

[Rules]
A: [V] Verb ない form＋で
B: Must represent an action that is different from A

[Examples]　
朝あさごはんを食たべないで来きました。
I came without having breakfast.

父ちちは砂糖さとうを入いれないで、コーヒーを飲のみます。
My father drinks coffee without adding sugar.

辞書じしょを見みないで漢字かんじを書かきました。
I wrote the kanji characters without looking at the dictionary.

“AしないでBする” indicates performing action B without doing action A. This is commonly used in the context of daily activities, requests, and commands.

[Examples]
宿題しゅくだいを忘わすれないでください。

Please don’t forget your homework.
⇒ This is a request not to “forget the homework.”

昨日きのうは疲つかれていたので夜ご飯よる　はんを食たべないで寝ねました。
I was tired yesterday, so I went to bed without eating dinner.
⇒ The action of “going to bed” was done without “eating dinner.”

Let’s Compare

Now, let’s compare the following examples.

[Examples]
① 電車でんしゃが来こなくて、タクシーで行いきました。

② 電車でんしゃが来こないで、タクシーで行いきました。

The correct sentence is ①.

Here, “電車でんしゃが来こなかった” is the reason (A), and it leads to the result (B) “タクシーで行いった.”
In other words, this sentence naturally expresses a causal relationship: A (cause) → B (result).

Let’s look at another example.

[Examples]
① 傘かさを持もたなくて出でかけました。

② 傘かさを持もたないで出でかけました。


The correct sentence is ②.

Here, “傘かさを持もつ” is an action (A), and “出でかける” is a separate action (B).
For this reason, “傘かさを持もたない” cannot be the reason for “出でかける.”
Since “〜ないで” is used when someone performs action B without doing action A,
② “傘かさを持もたないで出でかけました” is the natural expression.

Summary

[AなくてB]

• It indicates a cause-and-effect relationship or a sequence of states where B happened because of A.
• There is a causal link between A and B, showing that the absence of A naturally leads to B.

[AないでB]

• It means performing action B while not doing action A.
• It implies an intention to avoid action A while carrying out action B.

Quiz

Read the following sentence and choose the expression that fits the context from the options provided in the parentheses.

Click on the question to check the answer.

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