まい

まい is a classical auxiliary that expresses negative volition ("I will not…", "I don't intend to…") or negative conjecture ("probably won't…", "I doubt that…"). It is primarily used in written language and formal speech, and carries a strong, resolute tone.

Structure

The conjugation depends on the verb type:

• V5 (godan verbs): Dictionary form + まい

  • いく行く → 行くまい
  • のむ飲む → 飲むまい

• V1 (ichidan verbs): Dictionary form + まい or stem + まい

  • たべる食べる → 食べるまい / 食べまい
  • みる見る → 見るまい / 見まい
• する: するまい / すまい
• 来る: 来る（くる）まい / 来（こ）まい

Negative volition – "I will not…" / "I refuse to…"

When the subject is the speaker (first person), まい expresses a firm determination not to do something. It is stronger and more literary than 〜～ないつもりだ.

This usage often appears with words like もう, にど二度と, or ぜったいに絶対に to emphasize resolve.

Negative conjecture – "probably won't…" / "I doubt…"

When the subject is a third person or a situation, まい expresses the speaker's guess that something will probably not happen. This is the negative counterpart of 〜～だろう.

～まいと(する)

まい can be followed by と to express "trying not to…" or the effort of resisting an action.

～（よ）うが～まいが

This pattern means "whether someone does … or not" and expresses that the result is the same regardless.

Notes

• まい is quite literary and stiff; in everyday conversation, people use 〜～ないだろう for conjecture and 〜～ないつもりだ or 〜～まいとおもう思う for negative intention.
• まい does not conjugate further – it is always a sentence-final or clause-final form. - It attaches to the plain/dictionary form of the verb (for godan verbs), unlike most negative forms.