Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 6: 7/20

ずに済(す)む

Get by without doing something, To get away with

Structure

Verb［ない］+ ずに済(す)む
Verb［なくて］+ 済(す)む
Verb［ないで］+ 済(す)む

Details

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About ずに済む

ずに済(す)む is a grammar construction used in Japanese to indicate that one can 'get away without doing (A)', or 'it's no problem without (A)'. This structure is just a mix of ず, a literary auxiliary verb that attaches to verbs in the same way as ない (and has the same meaning), に, and 済(す)む, a う-Verb meaning 'to come to pass', or 'to end up'. Literally, it can be thought of as meaning 'it will work out without (A)'.
As mentioned, ず connects to verbs in the same way as ない, so this structure will be seen after the verbs that they are negating.
  • 今(いま)宿題(しゅくだい)をやっておけば後(あと)でやらずに済(す)むから、今(いま)のうちにやっておこう。
    If I do my homework now, I can get by without doing it later, so I shall do it right now.
  • このVIPパスを使(つか)えば待(ま)たずに済(す)みます。
    If you have this VIP pass, you can get by without waiting.
As the primary element in this grammar point that controls the meaning is 済(す)む, other negations such as ないですむ, or なしですむ may also be seen. 無(な)しで functions as a suffix, so may be used directly after nouns, unlike ないで and ずに.
  • 今月(こんげつ)契約(けいやく)すると初期(しょき)費用(ひよう)を支払(しはら)わないで済(す)むので、今月(こんげつ)中(ちゅう)に契約(けいやく)することをお勧(すす)めします。
    We recommend that you sign the contract within this month so that you can get by without paying the initial cost.
  • 今年(ことし)の冬(ふゆ)は去年(きょねん)より暖(あたた)かかったので、ヒーターなしで済(す)みました。
    Since winter this year was warmer than last year, I got by without using the heater.
In most cases, (A) will be something that is thought of as unpleasant or bothersome, therefore highlighting the speaker's relief that it can be avoided.

Examples

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    洗(あら)い物(もの)をせずに済(す)む。

    To get away with not doing the dishes.

    事故(じこ)が起(お)こったけど、怪我(けが)をせずに済(す)んだ。

    An accident occurred, but I got away without getting injured.

    犯人(はんにん)は警察(けいさつ)から、捕(つか)まらずに済(す)んだ。

    The criminal got away without being arrested by the police.

    ちゃんとペース配分(はいぶん)したから、体力(たいりょく)を消耗(しょうもう)せずに済(す)んだ。

    Because I properly paced myself, I got by without exhausting my physical strength.

    君(きみ)が予定(よてい)を合(あ)わせてくれたら、みんなのスケジュールを変更(へんこう)せずに済(す)むんだけど...

    If you would match up your plans with everyone else's, then everyone can get by without having to change their schedule.

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ずに済む – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • SuperLuxDeluxe

    SuperLuxDeluxe

    This doesn’t seem to currently accept any ないですむ conjugation as a correct response. In addition, the grammar point is listed as ないでにすむ instead of ないですむ. This goes against what is written An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese (the textbook I read) as well as other linked “additional reading.” I’ve not encountered なくてすむ yet, but it seems that it’s structured the same way. It would also be nice to know which forms are used more in writing and which are used more in speech. Thanks in advance!

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    You are absolutely right!

    I have fixed the structure section, and now alternative answers (なくて・ないで) are all accepted.

    When it comes to speech or writing, I would say that the expression that is most likely to be seen is ずに済む. Though it is not really restricted to writing or anything like that, since you can hear it in daily conversations, I would even say that much more often than ないで済む and なくて済む。

    I would say:
    Formality:
    ずに済む=>(the same, or minimally more, thanks to ず sounds a bit oldfashioned)なくて済む＝ないで済む

    Frequency (how often it is used):
    ずに済む (especially せずに済む)>なくて済む>ないで済む

    Cheers,

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