てからでないと・
One thing has to be done first. Until it is, something else can't happen. English says "not until" or "unless you … first".
You can't take this medicine until you have eaten.
in conversation
I can't sign until I've checked what the contract says.
How to form it
Verb in the て-form + からでないと／からでなければ + what can't happen
でなければ is a little stiffer. In conversation it is usually てからじゃないと.
- Before it
- The step that has to come first: 確認して, 聞いて, 予約して, 終わって.
- After it
- Always a "can't", a "won't" or trouble: できない, 分からない, 決められない, だめだ, 無理だ, 困る.
- Where you'll meet it
- Rules and instructions, counters and offices, and any time you have to say "not yet".
In use
We won't know the cause until the test results are in.
You cannot open an account until your identity has been checked.
A bank's rule, so でなければ.
No eating until you've washed your hands.
No ない at the end, but だめ does the same job.
Two things to know
Japanese says "not" twice
English "not until" has one "not". Japanese has two: でないと is "if it isn't after…", and the ending still has to say what can't happen. A plain "I will" at the end doesn't work.
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.
The ending often goes unsaid
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…
Close neighbours
てからN5
Only the order: first this, then that. It is what you need when the ending is something you will do or ask for.
Please take this medicine after eating.
までN5
"Until" a point in time. With a negative it is "not until" too, with nothing that has to be done first.
We won't know the result until next week.
て初めてN3
Also "not until", but it ends in what does happen: what you understood or managed only then.
Only when I became a parent did I understand what my own parents went through.
ないことにはN2
No "after" in it: unless you do this, you can't tell or can't begin.
You can't tell what someone is like unless you meet them.
Check yourself
1Which ending fits?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
部長に
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
A time can come straight before からでないと: "not before". With にならないと it is "not until".
The meeting room can't be used before three.
We won't know the result until next week.
More sentences
The machine won't run until the safety cover is closed.
We can't decide whether to move until we've seen the place for ourselves.
The review can't begin until all the required documents have been submitted.