ずじまい details
write + ended up never doing
kaka zujimaida
ended up never doing; never did get around to doing
meaning: end up never writing
結局、その本は読まずじまいだ。
kekkyoku, sono hon wa yoma zujimaida.
In the end I end up never reading that book. neutral
せっかく京都まで行ったのに、お寺は一つも見ずじまい。
sekkaku kyouto made itta noni, otera wa hitotsu mo mizujimai.
I went all the way to Kyoto and didn't end up seeing a single temple. casual
- past
- polite
Examples
ended up never doing X — an intention left unfulfilled, looked back on with regret
結局、その本は読まずじまいだった。
kekkyoku, sono hon wa yomazujimaidatta.
In the end I ended up never reading that book. neutral
せっかく京都まで行ったのに、お寺は一つも見ずじまい。
sekkaku kyouto made itta noni, otera wa hitotsu mo mizujimai.
I went all the way to Kyoto and didn't end up seeing a single temple. casual
在職中はご挨拶にも伺えずじまいで、大変失礼いたしました。
zaishokuchuu wa go aisatsu ni mo ukagaezujimai de, taihen shitsurei itashimashita.
I never managed to call on you to pay my respects during my time there, and I apologise sincerely. formal
Formation
{V-zu-stem}ずじまいだattaches to ず-stem
Notes
cannot come back; that is why it reads as regret and not as mere
non-occurrence. する→せずじまい.
Related patterns
Similar
ずに is a neutral "without doing" that any clause takes; ずじまい is a frozen noun-forming idiom that closes an episode off, so it reports only chances already and permanently gone.
Both carry regret, over opposite polarities — てしまう regrets an act that DID happen (言ってしまった, the slip), ずじまい regrets one that never did (言わずじまいだった, the words never said).
Lookalikes
Both hang off the ず-stem and both report an act that never happened, but ずに済む frames the omission as a relief and ずじまい as a regret — reading one as the other inverts the speaker's attitude.