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JLPT N5Verb Forms

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).

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Pro lessonUNIT 10 · VERB FORMS

Structure · 形

う-verb: shift final sound to the a-row + ない / る-verb: drop る + ない

Examples · 例文

  • 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 ~".

Usage notes · 注意

  • 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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