🌏 Region(s): Honshu (Standard)
ず : zu | define meaning
zu
Definition
Ending
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Attached to the Mizenkei (-a) form of a verb, the ending ～ず -zu is used to negate a verb and imply that the action or state is ongoing. Its usage is commonly translated as "without" or "while not".
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おもわず【思わず】
omowazu
"(I was) not thinking (when)", "(I) unintentionally", "(I) ~ without thinking", "Without thinking..." -
あめにもまけず【雨ニモマケズ】
ame ni mo makezu
"While not succumbing to the rain", "Without giving in to the rain"
(Famous poem title by Kenji Miyazawa)
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おもわず【思わず】
- When compounded with the particle に -ni and followed by another verb or phrase, it implies the notion of "without (doing)" or "while not (doing)".
- When compounded alone with に -ni, it may be used to indicate prohibition.
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In the construction ～ずにはいられない ~zu ni wa irarenai or ～ずにいられない ~zu ni irarenai, it means "to be unable to help but (do something)", "cannot help (but) ~", "can't help but ~".
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せずにはいられない
sezu ni wa irarenai
"cannot help but do (it)"
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せずにはいられない
Notes
More common in older texts, the ending ず -zu can be likened to the modern negative ending ない -nai, while ずに -zu ni (-zuni) is comparable to the form ないで -naide, with some overlap of the form なくて -nakute. Today, both ず -zu and ずに -zu ni distinguish themselves from -nai and -naide by more prominently emphasizing the meaning of "without".
意味：ず
ず