ずとも (zutomo)

Meaning & usage

ずとも is a formal, literary way to say even without doing something, equivalent to なくても. It attaches to the negative form of a verb with ない replaced by ず, as in 押さずとも or 分からずとも, and is common in written or stiff contexts.

Example sentences 4

1. 説明書せつめいしょを読よまずとも、この機械きかいは直感的ちょっかんてきに使つかえる。

   You can use this machine intuitively even without reading the manual.

2. 彼は言わずとも、顔を見ただけで怒っていると分かった。

   Even without him saying anything, I knew from just seeing his face that he was angry.

3. 締め切りを確認せずとも、毎日少しずつ進めていた。

   Even without checking the deadline, I made a little progress each day.

4. 詳しく調べずとも、その店が人気なのは一目瞭然だった。

   Even without looking into it in detail, it was obvious that the restaurant was popular.