〜ずじまい
JLPT N1:ended up not doing
Says an intended or expected action never happened before the opportunity ended, often with regret.
How to form it
- Replace ない in the ない form with ずじまい: 読まない becomes 読まずじまい.
- する becomes せずじまい.
- The expression commonly ends with だ or だった and looks back on a closed opportunity.
Examples
買った本は結局読まずじまいだった。
In the end, I never got around to reading the book I bought.
帰国する前に先生には会えずじまいでした。
I ended up returning home without getting to see my teacher.
Common mistakes
- Using it for a deliberate ongoing refusal when no opportunity has ended.
- Saying しず; the する form is せず.
Same form, different meaning
- 〜ずにwithout doing (formal)
ずに simply means “without doing”; ずじまい looks back on something left undone.