Almost every Japanese student sooner or later stumbles upon a certain problem – the existence of two negative forms of て. This caused many headaches in the past, but with this (unlike before) Brief article I will try to explain where it’s better to use one or other.
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So let’s start, with conjugations, so we have a clear comparison. Both negative て forms are created by simply adding ないで or なくて to negative stem form (the part that is left from a word when you remove ない, **食べ**ない, 飲まない, Japanese call it 未然形 （みぜんけい）).
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|Verb|未然形 (negative stem)|なくて|ないで|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|見（み）る|見|見なくて|見ないで|
|座（すわ）る|座ら|座らなくて|座らないで|
|打（う）つ|打た|打たなくて|打たないで|
|歩（ある）く|歩か|歩かなくて|歩かないで|
|泳（およ）ぐ|泳が|泳がなくて|泳がないで|
|死（し）ぬ|死な|死ななくて|死なないで|
|飛（と）ぶ|飛ば|飛ばなくて|飛ばないで|
|休(やす）む|休ま|休まなくて|休ないで|
|話(はな）す|話さ|話さなくて|話さないで|
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**First and major difference is that ないで is only used with verbs, while なくて is used both with verbs, adjectives and nouns!**
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|Part of speech|なくて|ないで|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Verb|食べなくて|食べないで|
|なAdjective|好（すき）きではくて（じゃなくて）|ー|
|いAdjective|小（ちい）さくなくて|ー|
|Noun|水ではなくて（じゃなくて）|ー|
Examples:
メアリーさんは東京（とうきょう）に行（い）かないで京都（きょうと）に行った。
Mary didn’t go to Tokyo, she went to Kyoto.
参加（さんか）でき\*なくて残念（ざんねん）です。I regret not being able to join you.
魚（さかな）**じゃなくて**肉（にく）が食たべたい。I want to eat meat, not fish. (ではなくて・じゃなくて is often used in pattern “not A, but B”)
試験は難しくなくてよかったです。I am glad that the exam was not hard.
学校はあまり好き*じゃなくて大学に行きたくない。I don’t like school much, so I don’t want to go to University.*
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*Another difference can be also spotted in those example sentences.* **なくて is usually used to express a reason or cause**\*. This is much less common for ないで. The ’cause’/’reason’ nuance is much weaker than から and ので, and is very often used with expressions of feelings or emotions like なく\*て困（こま）る、*なく*て大変（たいへん）、*なく*て疲（つか）れている、*なく*て心配（しんぱい）、*なく*て◯が痛（いた）い、、なくて残念（ざんねん）while **ないで** **means ‘without doing’ or ‘do not do something and**.
現金（げんきん）が足（た）り*なくて困（こま）った*… I was troubled because I did not have enough money. (notice that tense is expressed by the last verb since て form does not have this information in itself)
メアリーさんは東京（とうきょう）に行（い）かないで京都（きょうと）に行（い）った。
Mary didn’t go to Tokyo, she went to Kyoto.
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In addition to all that, ないで and なくて have their own set expressions, where only one sounds natural (or the other is much less common)
**ないで is the only one that is used with auxiliaries like ください (please)、ほしい(want)、おく(to do something in preparation)。**
それをし**ないでください**、Plesae, do not do that.
それを言（い）わ**ないでほしい**。I do not want you to say that.
パスタはあるから買（か）わ**ないでおいた**。(ておく means to do something in preparation)Because I have pasta, I didn’t buy it (in preparation for something).
Also, only ないで is used at the end of the sentence to mean ‘do not do something.
それをしないで。(Please), Do not do that!
**Here are some fixed expressions with なくて like:**
**なくてもいい** \- don’t have to
忙（いそが）しいなら、行（い）か **なくてもいい** です。 (It is also more or less OK with ないで:)
If you are busy, you don’t have to come.
なく**ては(いけない/ならない)** (must/have to)
ターミネーターを破壊（はかい）し*なくてはいけない*
We have to destroy the terminator!
ぜひとも 勝（か）た*なくてはならない*
We have to win no matter what!
明日（あした）、メアリーさんに 会わ*なくちゃいけない*。(なくちゃ is a slang form of なくては)
明日、グラントさんに 会わ*なくちゃ。(the part after なくちゃ can be omitted since it is understandable from context)*
I have to meet Mary tomorrow!
There is also another conjugation, ずに, which can be considered a formal version of ないで (and like ないで cannot be used with nouns and adjectives).
**なくてもいい** \- don’t have to (like above, ないでもいい is also more or less acceptable instead)忙いそがしいなら、行いか **なくてもいい** です。 If you are busy, then you don’t have to go.
Or **なくては(いけない/ならない)** (cannot be rephrased to ないで)朝ごはんを食べなくてはいけないYou have to eat breakfast.
*考（かんが）えずに*私（わたし）は彼（かれ）に言（い）ってしまった。
I told him without thinking.
死（し）な*ずに済（す）んだ*のは幸運（こううん）だった。
I was lucky I ended up not dying.
Well and that’s all folks 🙂 I hope that next time you will have it easier deciding between なくて and ないで.
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I am mrnoone, and this was briefjapanese.
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