～ぬきで／～ぬきに — Leaving Out; Without
Indicates doing something while omitting or excluding what would normally be included. It means 'without' in the sense of leaving something out. With が/は it can also express that something is impossible without X (〜ぬきには〜ない). The modifying form is 〜ぬきの.
Structure
[Noun] + ぬきで／ぬきに ( … ぬきには …ない for 'impossible without')
Examples
今日は仕事の話ぬきで楽しみましょう。
Kyou wa shigoto no hanashi nuki de tanoshimimashou.
Let's enjoy ourselves today without talking about work.
話 + ぬきで means proceeding while leaving out work talk.
朝食ぬきで学校に行った。
Choushoku nuki de gakkou ni itta.
I went to school without breakfast.
朝食 + ぬきで shows breakfast being omitted from the routine.
彼の協力ぬきには、成功できなかっただろう。
Kare no kyouryoku nuki ni wa, seikou dekinakatta darou.
Without his cooperation, we probably couldn't have succeeded.
協力 + ぬきには … ない expresses that success was impossible without it.
• Register: neutral, common in conversation. • ぬきには〜ない = 'cannot ... without X'. • Use ぬきの before a noun (例: 冗談ぬきの話).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～ぬきで／～ぬきに is tested against.
vs なしで
ぬきで implies deliberately omitting something normally expected/included; なしで is a plainer 'without', simply noting the absence of something.
vs を除いて
ぬきで means doing an action while leaving X out; を除いて means 'except for X' when listing or excluding items from a set.
More expressions
Study Japanese grammar on LenGaki
Everything on this page, free to browse
- 7,788 JLPT vocabulary words, N5 through N1, with readings and audio
- 2,057 kanji with on'yomi, kun'yomi and stroke-order practice
- 444 grammar points with examples and commonly-confused comparisons
- Full-length N5 and N4 mock exams, timed, with real listening audio
Get the Android app