ない Form — Plain Negative (Full Rules)
The plain (casual) negative of a verb, meaning 'don't / won't.' The resulting form behaves like an i-adjective (conjugates as なかった, etc.).
Structure
U-verb: change final -u to the -a sound + ない | Ru-verb: drop る + ない | する→しない, 来る→来ない
Examples
何も聞かない。
Nani mo kikanai.
I won't ask/hear anything.
聞く (ku) → 聞か (ka-row) + ない. 何も + negative = 'nothing at all.'
今日は仕事しない。
Kyou wa shigoto shinai.
I won't work today.
仕事する (irregular する) → 仕事しない
夜はテレビを見ない。
Yoru wa terebi o minai.
I don't watch TV at night.
見る is a ru-verb: drop る + ない → 見ない
• The う-exception: If a u-verb ends in う (like 買う), it does NOT go to あ. It shifts to わ → 買わない (don't buy). Same for 会う→会わない, 言う→言わない. • The ある anomaly: ある (to exist) does not become あらない. Its plain negative 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 ない form vs ません
Both are negative present. 聞かない is plain/casual; 聞きません is polite. Meaning is identical; only register differs.
More verb forms
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