LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 98 JLPT N4
Because It Didn't (〜なくて)
なくて attaches to a verb, adjective, or noun’s negative stem and gives the reason for a feeling or result that follows, usually something troubling, disappointing, or, less often, a relief.
My suitcase didn't come out at the airport, and I had trouble.
My phone wasn't working, and I had trouble.
In Real Life
なくて links the missing thing directly to the feeling it caused, much like なので or のに, except the first clause here is specifically negative. 困りました almost always follows it, naming the trouble that the absence created.
It didn't rain, and that was a relief.
There weren't any people, and it was quiet.
In Real Life
Not every なくて sentence is bad news, よかった after it flips the whole thing into relief, “I’m glad this didn’t happen.” The grammar itself is neutral, it’s whatever follows, 困りました or よかったです, that decides the tone.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| suitcase | |
| airport | |
| mobile phone | |
| to have trouble, be in a bind | |
| hot water | |
| to be too spicy | |
| the same flavor | |
| boring, dull | |
| to open (intransitive) | |
| to close (intransitive) | |
| to flow | |
| to be crowded | |
| to be able to meet | |
| to be able to speak | |
| to forget | |
| to be able to play | |
| tour | |
| unfortunate, disappointing | |
| to feel relieved | |
| quiet |