ないでくださいnaide kudasai“please don’t do”

ないでください means please don’t. It is the JLPT N5 pattern for asking someone not to do something: ここで写真を撮らないでください — please don’t take photos here.

You’ll see it on signs in museums, trains, and temples, and hear it from teachers and shop staff. If you already know てください (please do), this is its negative partner — but it isn’t built by negating ください. The negation happens on the verb, and then で links it to ください.

ない-form + で + ください. Negate the verb first, then ask. The で is not a て, and it is not optional.

What does ないでください mean?

ないでください is a request not to act. The speaker asks the listener to avoid or stop an action.

• 触らないでください — please don’t touch
• 忘れないでください — please don’t forget
• 心配しないでください — please don’t worry

Natural English equivalents are “please don’t,” “please do not,” and on signs simply “no ~”: 写真を撮らないでください on a museum sign is “No photography.”

Although it has ください in it, ないでください is a clear instruction. It is polite in form, but the listener is expected to comply. Think of the tone of “Please don’t touch” on a gallery rope — courteous, but not a suggestion.

How to form ないでください

Take the plain negative (ない-form) of the verb and add でください.

Examples across the verb groups:

• Group 1 (u-verbs): 書く → 書かないでください, 話す → 話さないでください, 使う → 使わないでください (う → わ, not あ)
• Group 2 (ru-verbs): 食べる → 食べないでください, 忘れる → 忘れないでください
• Irregular: する → しないでください, 来る → 来(こ)ないでください

Two shorter versions exist:

• ないで alone, in casual speech: 行かないで! (Don’t go!) — common between friends and family.
• ないでくださいね — the ね makes it sound more like a friendly reminder: 遅れないでくださいね (don’t be late, OK?).

When is ないでください used?

• Signs and rules in public places. 芝生に入らないでください — keep off the grass. ここにゴミを捨てないでください — don’t throw garbage here.
• Instructions from teachers, doctors, staff. 試験中は話さないでください — please don’t talk during the exam.
• Reassurance. 心配しないでください and 気にしないでください (don’t worry about it) are among the most common uses in daily conversation.
• Personal requests. 誰にも言わないでください — please don’t tell anyone.

With people above you — a boss, a teacher, a customer — ないでください can sound like an order. In those cases Japanese speakers usually soften it or explain the reason instead. At N4 you will learn 〜ないでいただけますか for this. For N5, adding a reason (…から、〜ないでください) already makes it gentler.

ないでください example sentences

Notice how often a reason with から comes first. Explaining why before asking is the natural Japanese way to make a “please don’t” feel reasonable rather than bossy.

Nuance of ないでください

ないでください is a request, not a statement of a rule. The speaker is asking you, directly, to avoid something. That makes it personal, which is why it fits reassurance (心配しないで) and secrets (言わないで) so well.

Rules and laws are phrased differently. A sign that states a prohibition in general terms often uses 〜てはいけません or 禁止 (forbidden), while 〜ないでください on the same sign sounds like staff speaking to you. Both appear in real life; ないでください is the more polite-sounding one.

The casual ないで without ください can be anything from a friendly “don’t!” to an emotional plea: 行かないで means “don’t go” and, in a drama, often “please stay.”

💡 Tip: 〜ないで also appears in the middle of sentences meaning "without doing": 朝ご飯を食べないで学校へ行きました — I went to school without eating breakfast. If ください doesn't follow, check whether it's "without." See ないで.

ないでください vs ちゃいけない・じゃいけない

Both say “don’t do this,” but they come from different angles.

ないでください asks. ちゃいけない informs you of a rule. Use ないでください when you are the one making the request, and ちゃいけない (or the fuller てはいけない) when you are explaining what is or isn’t permitted.

Common mistakes with ないでください

Is ないでください on the JLPT?

Listening items often give a string of instructions: “Bring a pencil, but don’t bring a dictionary.” Mark each verb as ください or ないでください as you listen — the answer usually depends on one of the negatives.

Practice questions for ないでください

Learning path for ないでください

Related grammar to review next

• てください — the positive request that ないでください mirrors.
• ないで — the same ないで meaning “without doing,” easy to confuse when ください is missing.
• てはいけない — states a rule (“you must not”) rather than making a request.
• なくてもいい — “you don’t have to,” the permission-side negative, often confused with “please don’t.”
• な — the blunt N4 prohibition used on warning signs and between close friends.

Learn ないでください with Hane

Hane pairs てください and ないでください in short conjugation drills across all three verb groups, so the ない-form and the で come out without thinking. Practice with Hane.