～ないでください

Meaning: “Please don’t (do something)”

This is a polite way to ask someone NOT to do something in Japanese. You take the negative short form of a verb and add でください.

🔧 How to Form It:

Verb (short negative form) + でください

🧩 Example:

• – たべる (to eat) → たべない → たべないでください
  → Please don’t eat (it).

🗣️ Example Sentences:

• 🗑️ごみをそこに捨てないでください。
  　“Please don’t throw garbage there.”
• 🎧 ここで音楽をかけないでください。
  　“Please don’t play music here.”
• 📱 会議中にスマホを使わないでください。
  　“Please don’t use your phone during the meeting.”
• 🍜 At a restaurant:
  A: この席に座ってもいいですか？ (May I sit in this seat?)
  B: すみません、その席は予約済みです。座らないでください。 (Sorry, that seat is reserved. Please don’t sit there.)

📝 Notes:

• This is softer than saying something like:
  　～てはいけません (“You must not do…”)
• You can use it with strangers, coworkers, or anyone you’re being polite to.
• Using ~ないでください is often more appropriate than ~てはいけません when responding to a “~てもいいですか” (May I…?) question. This is because:
  ❗️~ないでください is a polite request (“Please don’t…”)
  ❗️~てはいけません implies authority or prohibition, rule-like (“You must not/It is not allowed…”) as you learned here.