～ない – Plain Negative Form in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

• Meaning: ～ない is the plain negative form of a verb. It means do not, does not, or will not, depending on the context.
• How to Use: Change a verb into its negative plain form and put ～ない at the end.

• 猫は新聞を読まない。
• Neko wa shinbun o yomanai.
• The cat does not read the newspaper.

Overview

The grammar point ～ない is one of the most important verb forms in beginner Japanese. It is the plain negative form, used to say that someone does not do something or will not do something.

For example, 食べる (taberu, to eat) becomes 食べない (tabenai, do not eat), and 行く (iku, to go) becomes 行かない (ikanai, do not go).

This form is called plain because it is less formal than ～ません. So 食べません (tabemasen, do not eat) is polite, while 食べない is plain. You will hear and read ～ない all the time in casual conversation, manga, songs, and simple written Japanese.

It is also a very useful base form because many other grammar patterns are built from it later. Once you know how to make ～ない, a lot of beginner grammar becomes much easier.

In English, ～ない can mean either present or future negative, depending on context. So 今日は行かない (kyou wa ikanai) can mean I’m not going today or I won’t go today.

• 宇宙人はここで働かない。
• Uchuujin wa koko de hatarakanai.
• Aliens do not work here.

• そのパンダは野菜を食べない。
• Sono panda wa yasai o tabenai.
• That panda does not eat vegetables.

At the N5 level, the main thing to understand is simple: ～ない makes a verb negative.

Structure / Formation

• V-ない

To use this grammar point, you change a verb into its ない-form. How you do that depends on the verb group.

Ru-verbs

For many verbs ending in ～る, you remove る and add ない.

Dictionary form	Negative plain form	Meaning
食べる (taberu)	食べない (tabenai)	do not eat
見る (miru)	見ない (minai)	do not see
寝る (neru)	寝ない (nenai)	do not sleep

This is the easiest pattern, but remember that not every ～る verb is a ru-verb.

U-verbs

For u-verbs, change the final u-sound to the matching a-sound, then add ない.

Dictionary form	Negative plain form	Meaning
書く (kaku)	書かない (kakanai)	do not write
読む (yomu)	読まない (yomanai)	do not read
話す (hanasu)	話さない (hanasanai)	do not speak
待つ (matsu)	待たない (matanai)	do not wait
死ぬ (shinu)	死なない (shinanai)	do not die
遊ぶ (asobu)	遊ばない (asobanai)	do not play
飲む (nomu)	飲まない (nomanai)	do not drink

There is one important special case: verbs ending in う change to わない, not あない.

Dictionary form	Negative plain form	Meaning
買う (kau)	買わない (kawanai)	do not buy
言う (iu)	言わない (iwanai)	do not say

Irregular verbs

Two very common verbs are irregular.

Dictionary form	Negative plain form	Meaning
する (suru)	しない (shinai)	do not do
来る (kuru)	来ない (konai)	do not come

Because する and 来る are so common, it is worth memorizing these forms early.

Basic use in a sentence

Once you make the verb negative, you can use it like a normal plain verb at the end of a sentence.

• 私はその秘密を言わない。
• Watashi wa sono himitsu o iwanai.
• I will not say that secret.

• あの犬は今日は寝ない。
• Ano inu wa kyou wa nenai.
• That dog is not sleeping today.

In beginner Japanese, you will often see ～ない at the end of short statements. It is direct, simple, and very common in casual speech.

Plain negative vs polite negative

It helps to compare ～ない with ～ません.

Style	Example	Meaning
Plain	食べない (tabenai)	do not eat
Polite	食べません (tabemasen)	do not eat

The meaning is basically the same. The difference is style. Use ～ない in casual speech and plain-style writing. Use ～ません when you want to sound polite.

If you are talking with friends, family, or speaking casually to yourself, ～ない is everywhere. If you are speaking to a teacher, a customer, or someone you do not know well, ～ません is often safer.

A useful beginner tip

When you learn a new verb, try to memorize both the dictionary form and the negative form together. For example, learn 行く (iku, to go) with 行かない (ikanai, do not go), not just one by itself.

This makes it much easier to speak and understand Japanese naturally, because negative forms appear constantly in real sentences.

Example Sentences

• そのロボットは朝ごはんを食べない。
• Sono robotto wa asagohan o tabenai.
• That robot does not eat breakfast.

• 私は月に行かない。
• Watashi wa tsuki ni ikanai.
• I am not going to the moon.

• あの魚は日本語を話さない。
• Ano sakana wa nihongo o hanasanai.
• That fish does not speak Japanese.

• 父は日曜日に勉強しない。
• Chichi wa nichiyoubi ni benkyou shinai.
• My father does not study on Sundays.

• 今日は宇宙人が学校に来ない。
• Kyou wa uchuujin ga gakkou ni konai.
• Today, the alien is not coming to school.

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the correct plain negative sentence for “I do not drink coffee.”

• A. 私はコーヒーを飲まない。(Watashi wa koohii o nomanai.)
• B. 私はコーヒーを飲みない。(Watashi wa koohii o nominai.)
• C. 私はコーヒーを飲ません。(Watashi wa koohii o nomasen.)
• D. 私はコーヒーを飲むと。(Watashi wa koohii o nomu to.)

2. Choose the correct negative form of 食べる.

• A. 食べあない。(tabeanai)
• B. 食べない。(tabenai)
• C. 食べわない。(tabewanai)
• D. 食べでも。(tabedemo)

3. Choose the correct sentence using the irregular verb 来る in plain negative form.

• A. 明日、先生は学校に来ない。(Ashita, sensei wa gakkou ni konai.)
• B. 明日、先生は学校に来るない。(Ashita, sensei wa gakkou ni kurunai.)
• C. 明日、先生は学校にきあない。(Ashita, sensei wa gakkou ni kianai.)
• D. 明日、先生は学校に来ないや。(Ashita, sensei wa gakkou ni konai ya.)

4. Choose the correct plain negative form of 買う.

• A. 買あない。(kaanai)
• B. 買ない。(kanai)
• C. 買わない。(kawanai)
• D. 買うなど。(kau nado)

5. Choose the correct casual sentence for “That panda does not read books at night.”

• A. そのパンダは夜に本を読まない。(Sono panda wa yoru ni hon o yomanai.)
• B. そのパンダは夜に本を読みない。(Sono panda wa yoru ni hon o yominai.)
• C. そのパンダは夜に本を読みません。(Sono panda wa yoru ni hon o yomimasen.)
• D. そのパンダは夜に本を読むでも。(Sono panda wa yoru ni hon o yomu demo.)

Spot-the-Error

6. Which sentence has a grammar mistake?

• A. 猫はテレビを見ない。(Neko wa terebi o minai.)
• B. 父は朝ごはんを食べない。(Chichi wa asagohan o tabenai.)
• C. 私は駅に行くない。(Watashi wa eki ni ikunai.)

7. Which sentence has a grammar mistake?

• A. 今日はロボットが掃除しない。(Kyou wa robotto ga souji shinai.)
• B. あの学生は学校に来ない。(Ano gakusei wa gakkou ni konai.)
• C. 母は手紙を書きない。(Haha wa tegami o kakinai.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese: “I do not study today.”

• A. Use the plain negative form of 勉強する. (Benkyou suru.)

9. Translate into Japanese: “That dog does not sleep in the morning.”

• A. Use the plain negative form of 寝る. (Neru.)

10. Translate into Japanese: “My friend does not buy sushi.”

• A. Use the plain negative form of 買う. (Kau.)

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Answers and Explanations

1. 私はコーヒーを飲まない。(Watashi wa koohii o nomanai.) — 飲む is a u-verb, so it changes to 飲まない in the plain negative form.
2. 食べない。(tabenai) — 食べる is a ru-verb, so you remove る and add ない.
3. 明日、先生は学校に来ない。(Ashita, sensei wa gakkou ni konai.) — 来る is irregular, and its plain negative form is 来ない, not 来るない.
4. 買わない。(kawanai) — Verbs ending in う change to わない, so 買う becomes 買わない.
5. そのパンダは夜に本を読まない。(Sono panda wa yoru ni hon o yomanai.) — 読む becomes 読まない, and this is the correct casual negative sentence.
6. 私は駅に行くない。(Watashi wa eki ni ikunai.) — This is wrong because 行く is a u-verb, so the correct negative form is 行かない.
7. 母は手紙を書きない。(Haha wa tegami o kakinai.) — This is wrong because 書く changes to 書かない, not 書きない.
8. 私は今日は勉強しない。(Watashi wa kyou wa benkyou shinai.) — 勉強する becomes 勉強しない in the plain negative form.
9. その犬は朝に寝ない。(Sono inu wa asa ni nenai.) — 寝る is a ru-verb, so it becomes 寝ない.
10. 私の友だちはすしを買わない。(Watashi no tomodachi wa sushi o kawanai.) — 買う becomes 買わない because verbs ending in う change to わない.