Grammar › Exclusion & Omission
ぬきで/ぬきに — “without, leaving X out”
Says something is done with one usual element deliberately left out
Noun + ぬきで (or ぬきに/ぬき) says something proceeds with a particular element deliberately removed or skipped — “without X” or “leaving X out.” It often appears in set phrases like 冗談ぬきで (joking aside, seriously) and 前置きぬきで (skipping the preamble).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Noun + ぬきで | お世辞ぬきで、これは素晴らしい — Flattery aside, this is wonderful |
| Noun + ぬきの + noun | 砂糖ぬきのコーヒー — coffee without sugar |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冗談ぬきで、本当に助かりました。 | じょうだんぬきで、ほんとうにたすかりました。 joudannukide、hontounitasukarimashita。 | Joking aside, you really helped me out. |
| 今日は前置きぬきで本題に入りましょう。 | きょうはまえおきぬきでほんだいにはいりましょう。 kyouhamaeokinukidehondainihairimashou。 | Let's skip the preamble and get straight to the point today. |
| このスープは塩ぬきで作ってあります。 | このすーぷはしおぬきでつくってあります。 konosu-puhashionukidetsukuttearimasu。 | This soup is made without salt. |
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Watch out
ぬきで modifies the action (“do X without Y”), while ぬきの modifies a following noun (“Y-less X”) — 塩ぬきで作る (make it without salt) vs 塩ぬきのスープ (salt-free soup) use different grammatical slots for the same idea.