～ずじまい — Never Got Around To It
Expresses that something one intended to do ended up not being done, usually with a sense of regret or missed opportunity. It means 'ended up not doing…' or 'never got around to…' The nuance is that the chance passed and the intended action was never completed.
Structure
[Verb ない-form (drop ない)] + ずじまい
Examples
忙しくて、結局その本は読まずじまいだった。
Isogashikute, kekkyoku sono hon wa yomazu jimai datta.
I was busy and ended up never reading that book.
読む → 読まず + じまい = the reading never happened, with regret
彼にお礼を言わずじまいで、後悔している。
Kare ni orei o iwazu jimai de, koukai shite iru.
I never got to thank him, and I regret it.
言う → 言わず + じまい = thanking was left undone
旅行の計画は結局実行せずじまいになった。
Ryokou no keikaku wa kekkyoku jikkou sezu jimai ni natta.
In the end, the travel plans were never carried out.
する → せず + じまい (irregular) = the plan ended up unrealized
• する becomes せずじまい (irregular). • Almost always carries a tone of regret or disappointment. • Often paired with 結局 (in the end) to stress the missed chance.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～ずじまい is tested against.
vs ～ないままだ
ないままだ neutrally states a state left unchanged; ずじまい specifically implies a regretted, missed opportunity that will no longer come.
vs ～なかった
Plain なかった simply says something wasn't done; ずじまい adds the nuance that one meant to but never managed, with lingering regret.
More expressions
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