ない Form — Plain Negative
The plain (casual) negative form of verbs. Used among friends and as the base for patterns like "must do" (なければ) and "please don't" (ないで).
Structure
う-verb: shift final sound to the a-row + ない / る-verb: drop る + ない
Examples
行かない。
Ikanai.
I'm not going.
行く (ku) → 行か (ka) + ない.
明日は雨が降らない。
Ashita wa ame ga furanai.
It won't rain tomorrow.
降る (ru) → 降ら (ra) + ない.
彼を信じないで。
Kare o shinjinaide.
Don't believe him.
信じない (plain neg) + で = casual negative request "don't ~".
• The う→わ Trap: う-verbs shift the final sound to the a-row, BUT verbs ending in う go to わ, not あ — 買う (kau) → 買わない (kawanai), not ×買あない. • Irregular ある: the negative of ある (to exist) is not ×あらない — it is simply ない.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ない is tested against.
vs ません (polite negative)
ない is plain/casual (friends); ません is polite (strangers/superiors). 行かない vs 行きません.
vs 〜ないで vs 〜なくて
As a connector, ないで = "without doing / don't do" (request or manner); なくて links a negative cause/state (来なくて寂しい = I'm lonely because you didn't come).
More verb forms
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