～ない

The ない-form is the plain negative of a verb: いく行く "go" becomes いかない行かない "don't go". It is what you say to friends and family, where polite speech has ません. Like the dictionary form, it covers habits and the future alike: "doesn't" and "won't".

Making the ない-form

Ichidan verbs (v1) drop る and add ない: みる見る → みない見ない, たべる食べる → たべない食べない. Godan verbs (v5) move their last sound to the あ-row before ない, except う, which becomes わ.

ない goes on the changed stem, never on the dictionary form.

• × 会あない → 会わない
• × 行くない → 行かない

Irregular verbs

する becomes しない, and くる来る becomes こない来ない, read こない. ある has no form of its own here: its negative is plain ない.

• × あらない → ない

Usage notes

These go beyond the plain present negative.

は in a negative sentence

The thing you don't do often takes は in place of を. It singles that thing out: not this, whatever else.

ない changes like an い-adjective

ない ends in い, and it conjugates the way an い-adjective does: なかった for the past, なくて for the て-form, なければ for "if not".

ないです

Adding です makes the ない-form polite. You hear it in conversation; ません is the standard polite negative.