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Grammar detail: 〜ないで

〜ないで  without doing
88 words
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verb plain negative
+
+
clause
means
do (clause) without doing (verb)
かのじょ
彼女
ともだち
友達
れんらく
連絡
しないで
レストラン
よやく
予約
キャンセルしました
She cancelled the restaurant reservation without contacting her friends.
こども
子供
テレビなんか
ないで
はや
なければならない

Children must go to bed early without watching television.
In English, an appropriate translation would often be 'instead of ~':
テレビ
ないで
トランプしよ
Let's play cards instead of watching television.
This form is exactly the same as the negative imperative ('don't do'), so it can be difficult to distinguish the two forms without context. One helpful point to notice is that an imperative usually appears at or near the end of the sentence, whereas this usage is a joining form, so it typically appears between two clauses.
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Kanji used in this grammar

ヒ   かれ he   
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ジョ   ニョ   ニョウ   woman; female   おんな woman   め woman   
ユウ   とも friend   
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タツ    arrive   
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レン   つれる to take, to lead   つらねる to line up   つらなる to extend   
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ラク   entangled   からまる to be entangled, to be entwined   から to get in a tangle with   からめる to entwine   
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ヨ    previously, in advance   
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ヤク    promise; approximate   
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シ   ス   こ child   
キョウ   ク   そなえる to make an offering   とも servant, attendant   
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ケン   み to see   みえる to be seen; to appear   みせる to show   
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ソウ   サッ   early; fast   はや early   はやまる be hasty   はやめる to expedite, to hasten   
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シン   ねかす to lay down   ね to sleep, to lie down   
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