ことなしに
Without doing / without experiencing / without something happening → expresses that a result or state is achieved while completely avoiding a certain action or event
N1
Meaning
Without doing / without experiencing / without something happening → expresses that a result or state is achieved while completely avoiding a certain action or event
Formation
Verb (dictionary form) + ことなしに + Result
Explanation
ことなしに is used to state that something is achieved or proceeds without a certain action, experience, or problem occurring.
🔸 ことなしに = absence of action or event
Core idea:
“X happened without Y ever taking place.”
Key nuances:
The avoided action/event never occurred
Often implies:
smoothness
success
absence of trouble
The tone is formal, written, and objective
Frequently used in reports, narratives, and JLPT N1 reading passages
This grammar is commonly used to emphasize that:
no difficulty arose
no conflict occurred