"Not until" and "can't … without"
Japanese says "not until" and "can't … without" as "if not this, then not that": first what is missing, then what can't happen. With a verb, what is missing is a step, and てからでないと is the everyday form. With a noun, it is a thing: people say がないと or なしでは, and the stiffer forms are for essays and speeches.
| Form | What it says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| てからでないと | Not until this is done: the order is the point | Rules, offices, everyday talk |
| ないことには | Until this is done, you can't tell or begin | Conversation and writing |
| がないと | The plainest "can't … without": "if there is no…" | Conversation |
| なしでは・なしには | "Can't … without" | Conversation and writing |
| を抜きにしては | Something essential can't be left out | Essays, speeches, formal thanks |
| なくして（は） | "Can't … without", said as a principle | Speeches, essays, slogans |
The first two follow a verb, the other four a noun.
てからでないと: not until
Full pageてからでないと・
てからでないと says that one thing has to be done first, and until it is, something else can't happen. It is the "not until" of rules and instructions, and what you say when the answer is "not yet". In conversation it is usually てからじゃないと.
You can't take this medicine until you have eaten.
I can't sign until I've checked what the contract says.
The ending is easy to guess, so in conversation people often leave it out.
Could we have your answer today?
I'm sorry, not until I've talked to my boss…
ないことには: stuck until this is done
Full pageないことにはN2
ないことには says that a first step is still missing, and until it is taken you can't tell, can't decide or can't begin. It often explains why there is no answer yet, or urges people to take that step, and it is very often said with てみる, "to try". Before a "can't", plain なければ, or ないと in conversation, says the same with less of the feeling of being stuck.
You won't know whether it works until you try.
In any case, nothing can start until we get the people together.
てからでないと or ないことには?
A doctor waiting for test results can say either.
We won't know the cause until the test results are in.
The order matters: first the results, then the cause.
I can't say anything until I see the test results.
No order in it: a step is missing, so there is no answer.
Where it goes wrong
English "not until" has one "not". Japanese has two: after てからでないと, the ending still has to say what can't happen.
Not said: 宿題を
(I won't go out to play until I've done my homework.)
Either 宿題をしてから、遊びに行きます, or 宿題をしてからでないと、遊びに行けません.
English "unless … first" can be ないことには. An "unless" that ends in a plan that goes ahead can't: it is なければ.
Not said: 雨が
(I'll walk unless it rains.)
雨が降らなければ、歩いて行きます.
がないと and なしでは: can't … without
Full pageとN4なしで・
After a noun, the plainest "can't … without" is がないと, "if there is no…", and the one to start with. About a person it is がいないと.
I can't see a thing without my glasses.
You can't board a plane without a passport.
なしで is the plain "without". With は, and a negative after it, the noun becomes something you can't do without.
You can get into this museum without a reservation.
No reservation is needed.
This facility cannot operate without a stable electricity supply.
The facility can't do without the supply.
なしでは is said as well as written: スマホなしでは生活できない, "I can't live without my phone". なしには is mostly written, though everyone knows 涙なしには語れない, "can't be told without tears".
を抜きにしては: it can't be left out
Full page抜きN2
を抜きにしては is formal, and what it names is something essential. It is built on 抜き, which leaves a part out (わさび抜きで, "no wasabi"), and is often shortened to 抜きには.
This project could never have happened without Ms. Sato's help.
Formal thanks. To a friend it is ～がいなかったら, "if you hadn't been there".
You can't talk about Japanese food culture without rice.
なくして（は）: for speeches and slogans
Full pageなしで・
なくして（は） says the same "can't … without" as a principle or an appeal; は is optional. Before it comes something weighty, such as trust, effort or cooperation: 努力なくして成功はない, "no success without effort".
This project can't continue without the agreement of local people.
A statement of what is needed.
Without the agreement of local people, this project cannot continue.
The same fact, said as a principle.
Sounds odd: コーヒーなくして、
My morning does not begin without coffee.
Coffee isn't weighty: it is said for fun.
Other ways to say "not until" and "without"
て初めてN3
Also "not until", but it ends in what did happen: what you understood or managed only then.
Only when I became a parent did I understand what my own parents went through.
までN5
After a time, with a negative: "not until" that time. Nothing has to be done first.
We won't know the result until next week.
ことなしにはN2
After a verb, in formal writing: "cannot … without doing".
The procedure can't be completed without an identity check.
ずに・ないでN3
"Without doing". なしで takes only a noun, so after a verb it is one of these.
I ran the machine without reading the instructions.