ずに

ずに means "without doing": the main action happens, and the one before ずに is left undone. Take the ない-form of a verb and replace ない with ずに – 食べない gives たべ食べずに, 持たない gives もた持たずに. Both halves of the sentence have the same subject.

する becomes せずに, and くる来る becomes こ来ずに, read こずに.

• × しずに → せずに

ずに or ないで

ないで means the same, and it is the everyday form; ずに sounds a little more written, though you hear both. Only ないで can make a request or end a sentence.

• × 撮らずにください → 撮らないでください

Usage notes

These go beyond "without doing".

Instead of

With two actions where one replaces the other, ずに is "instead of".

ず on its own

In writing, ずに often drops the に. The meaning is the same and the tone more formal.