naide ないで is a phrase created from the auxiliary adjective de で. It has a number of different functions, the most common one being to ask people not do something.

Anime: "Kemono Friends," Kemono Furenzu けものフレンズ

  • tabenai-de kudasai! 食べないでください!
    Please don't eat me!
  • Kaban-Chan.

Negative Request

The most common use of naide ないで is to ask people not to do something. What this means exactly varies. It can range from "please don't do this," to "I don't want you to do this," to "stahp! Don't do that!"
  • taberu 食べる
    To eat.
  • tabenai 食べない
    To not eat.
  • tabenaide!!! 食べないで!!!
    Don't eat me!!!
    (or don't eat this/that/him/her/etc.)
  • korosu 殺す
    To kill.
  • korosanaide 殺さないで
    Don't kill [me].
  • shinu 死ぬ
    To die.
  • shinanaide 死なないで
    Don't die.
    Please don't die! Don't get yourself killed! Come back alive, MC-kun, the love of my life!!! When this all ends, let's get married. Etc.
  • baka ni suru 馬鹿にする
    To take someone for an idiot. To make a fool of someone.
  • baka ni shinaide 馬鹿にしないで
    Don't make a fool [of me].
    Stop lying to me. Stop joking. (specially when someone says something absurd, like their classmate is a God or something like that.)
  • watashi no koto wasurenaide 私のこと忘れないで
    Don't forget about me.
    (phrase used in romances before lovers part ways.)
  • uso wo tsukanaide 嘘をつかないで
    Don't lie. Don't tell falsehoods.
  • nanimo shinaide 何もしないで
    Don't do anything.

One thing about these negative requests is that, they're not just negative in the grammatical sense, they're also negative in the "this sounds negative" sense. Because you only tell someone to "not do this" if they're doing or about to do something you don't want them to do. Which means some of these words are used in some pretty sad contexts:
  • okoranaide 怒らないで
    Don't get angry [at me].
  • naguranaide 殴らないで
    Don't hit [me].
  • sawaganaide 騒がないで
    Don't make a fuss.
  • kikanaide 聞かないで
    Don't ask.
  • minaide 見ないで
    Don't look.
  • konaide 来ないで
    Don't come [toward me].
    Don't approach [me].
  • toranaide 撮らないで
    Don't take [photos/videos].
  • hashiranaide 走らないで
    Don't run.
  • nigenaide 逃げないで
    Don't run away.
  • nenaide 寝ないで
    Don't sleep.
  • tatakawanaide 戦わないで
    Don't fight. Don't battle.
  • barasanaide バラさないで
    Don't tell (others something that's a secret.)
    Don't snitch. Don't expose.
  • akiramenaide 諦めないで
    Don't give up.

Generally speaking, this naide is synonymous with naide kudasai ないでください, and naide kure ないでくれ, although the nuance is different.
  • sawaru 触る
    To touch.
  • sawaranaide 触らないで
    Don't touch [me].
  • sawaranai-de kure 触らないでくれ
    Please don't touch [me].
  • sawaranai-de kureru? 触らないでくれる?
    Can you please not touch [me]?
    (in anime, this is often said by an annoyed character.)
  • sawaranai-de kudasai 触らないでください
    Please don't touch [me]. (polite.)

It can also come before other auxiliaries like
  • kenka shinai-de hoshii ケンカしないでほしい
    [I] want [y'all] not to quarrel.
    I'd like it if you two didn't fight.

You may notice this resembles the te-form of verbs: sawatte kudasai 触ってください means "please touch." The kudasai goes directly after the te-form, the same way it goes directly after the naide.

Furthermore, sawatte 触って alone can mean a "touch" as a command, in the imperative. Likewise, you could say sawaranaide is a negative command rather than a negative request, a negative imperative.

So naide is practically a te-form, isn't it? But wait... nai already has a te-form! It's nakute! Why does nai have two te-forms? And most importantly: what's the difference between naide and nakute?

ないで vs. なくて

Basically, there are cases naide ないで and nakute なくて are interchangeable: you can use one or the other, because their meanings overlap, but that's not always. For example, in this case they mean the same thing:
  • makenakute yokatta 負けなくて良かった
    makenai-de yokatta 負けないで良かった
    Having not lost was good.
    [It's a] good [thing I] didn't lose.

One big difference between that naide ないで can be used with auxiliary verbs, but nakute can't.
  • makenai-de-iru 負けないでいる
    To be not losing.
  • makenakute-iru 負けなくている
    (wrong!)

The rule above includes kudasai ください. That is, although kudasai looks like an -i ~い, it's actually a conjugation of the verb kudasaru くださる, so you use it after naide, not after nakute.
  • makenai-de kudasai 負けないでください
    Please don't lose!
  • makenakute kudasai 負けなくてください.
    (wrong!)

Different Ways to Use

To understand naide ないで better, let's take a look at the following phrases:
  1. shukudai wo shinai-de okorareta 宿題をしないで怒られた
    Got scolded for not having done the homework.
  2. shukudai wo shinai-de gakkou ni itta 宿題をしないで学校にいった
    Went to school not having done the homework.
  3. shukudai wo shinai-de geemu bakari shiteiru 宿題をしないでゲームばかりしている
    Playing games all the time not having done the homework.

All three of them share the first part: shukudai wo shinai-de, "not having done the homework." But the meaning is slightly different in each.

In the first example, we have the classic consequential te-form. You "got scolded," okorareta. Why? Because you did "not do the homework," shukudai wo shinai. In this case, and in this case alone, you can replace naide for nakute.
  • shukudai wo shinakute okorareta 宿題をしなくて怒られた
    Got scolded for not having done the homework.
    Homework do not, thus got scolded.

In the second example, the de particle is joining two parallel things: the situation and the action. The situation is that you did "not do the homework." And the action is that you "went to school," gakkou ni itta. In other words, having not done the homework, you went to school.

A more direct example:
  • kekkon shinai-de shinda 結婚しないで死んだ
    Not having married, died.
    Died without having married.

But a phrase like this has a bunch of problems.

First off, it's ambiguous with "died of not marrying," even though something weird like that is pretty unlikely to be the case. Second off, although it's grammatically correct, it sounds weird, and there's a lot of better ways to say something like that:
  • kekkon sezu ni shinda 結婚せずに死んだ
    Died without marrying.
  • kekkon shinai mama shinda 結婚しないまま死んだ
    Died still not married.

Anyway, the third example, although grammatically identical, has the nuance of a complaint instead. The format, "you don't do X, you keep doing Y instead," is often always a complaint about somebody's behavior.
  • benkyou shinai-de anime bakkari miteru 勉強しないでアニメばっかり見てる
    Doesn't study, watches anime all the time.


You can also reverse the phrase pattern above to ask someone to stop doing something and go do something else instead.

  • anime bakkari minai-de benkyou shiro アニメばっかり見ないで勉強しろ
    Don't watch anime all the time, go study.

Further Reading

References

In Japanese,ないで is a phrase created from the auxiliary adjective nai ない plus the particleで. It has a number of different functions, the most common one being to ask people not do something.The most common use ofないで is to ask people not to do something. What this means exactly varies. It can range from "please don't do this," to "I don't want you to do this," to "stahp! Don't do that!"One thing about these negative requests is that, they're not just negative in the grammatical sense, they're also negative in the "this sounds negative" sense. Because you only tell someone to "not do this" if they're doing or about to do something you don't want them to do. Which means some of these words are used in some pretty sad contexts:Generally speaking, thisis synonymous withないでください, andないでくれ, although the nuance is different.It can also come before other auxiliaries like hoshii 欲しい You may notice this resembles the-form of verbs:ください means "please touch." Thegoes directly after the-form, the same way it goes directly after theFurthermore,alone can mean a "touch" as a command, in the imperative. Likewise, you could sayis a negative command rather than a negative request, a negative imperative.Sois practically a-form, isn't it? But wait...already has a-form! It's! Why doeshave two-forms? And most importantly: what's the difference betweenandBasically, there are casesないで andなくて are interchangeable: you can use one or the other, because their meanings overlap, but that's not always. For example, in this case they mean the same thing:One big difference between thatないで can be used with auxiliary verbs, butcan't.The rule above includesください. That is, althoughlooks like an i-adjective , because it ends with~い, it's actually a conjugation of the verbくださる, so you use it after, not afterTo understandないで better, let's take a look at the following phrases:All three of them share the first part:, "not having done the homework." But the meaning is slightly different in each.In the first example, we have the classic consequential-form. You "got scolded,". Why? Because you did "not do the homework,". In this case, and in this case alone, you can replaceforIn the second example, theparticle is joining two parallel things: the situation and the action. The situation is that you did "not do the homework." And the action is that you "went to school,". In other words, having not done the homework, you went to school.A more direct example:But a phrase like this has a bunch of problems.First off, it's ambiguous with "died of not marrying," even though something weird like that is pretty unlikely to be the case. Second off, although it's grammatically correct, it sounds weird, and there's a lot of better ways to say something like that:Anyway, the third example, although grammatically identical, has the nuance of a complaint instead. The format, "you don't do X, you keep doing Y instead," is often always a complaint about somebody's behavior.

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