ずに済む
ずにすむzu ni sumuneutral
Same meaning7
don't have to; it's okay not to
classical negative (ぬ・ず・ざる)
- ねばならないmust do; is obliged to do (written)attaches at
- ぬdoes not — the classical negative endingattaches at
- ざるを得ないhave no choice but to do; cannot avoid doingattaches at
- ずにwithout doingattaches at
All examples3
get by without having to do X — unnecessary, to your relief
早めに予約したので、並ばずにすんだ。
hayame ni yoyaku shita node, narabazunisunda.
I booked early, so I ended up not having to line up. neutral
バスがすぐ来たから、濡れなくてすんだよ。
basu ga sugu kita kara, nurenakute sunda yo.
The bus turned up right away, so I didn't end up getting soaked. casual
早期に発見できたため、大がかりな手術をせずに済みました。
souki ni hakken dekita tame, oogakari na shujutsu o sezu ni sumimashita.
Because it was caught early, no major surgery was needed after all. formal
How it's formed2
All forms3
なくてすむnakutesumucolloquial
味わわなくてすむ
the everyday spoken half of the pair, on the modern form — しなくてすむ where the ず form spells せずにすむ.
- pastずにすんだzunisunda
味わわずにすんだ
- politeずにすみますzunisumimasu
味わわずにすみます
Notes
済む here means "it ends there", not "it finishes" (払わずに済んだ).
する becomes せずに済む in the classical form, しなくて済む in the
modern one.
する becomes せずに済む in the classical form, しなくて済む in the
modern one.