済む (mu)
to manage without doing something; to be settled or resolved with less than expected
Meaning & usage
済む means to get by without doing something or to have a matter resolved with less effort, time, or apology than might be expected. It attaches to the negative forms ないで, ずに, and なくて of verbs, as in 行かないで済む or 行かずに済む, and to a noun plus で showing the small means, as in ごめんで済む. In speech ないで済む is common, while ずに済む sounds more formal and written, so learners should choose the form to match the situation.
Example sentences 3
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「ごめん」「ごめんで済むと思ってんの！？」
"I'm sorry." "You think you can get away with it just by saying sorry!?"
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トムは家事を手伝わずに済むことを望んでいる。
Tom wishes he didn't have to help with the housework.
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せずに済むなら誰もこんなことはしない。
If it didn't need to be done, nobody would do this kind of thing.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 1 past exam question.
