なくてもいいです - don't have to do ~

〜なくてもいいです

Meaning

Says an action is not required - the opposite of an obligation.

Explanation

Built from a verb's negative て-form (なくて) plus もいいです ("even if... it's fine"), this says there's no need to do the action - it's permitted to skip it, unlike なければなりません above, which insists it be done.

Formation

Verb (ない-form, drop い) + くてもいいです

Examples

明日は仕事に行かなくてもいいです。
あしたはしごとにいかなくてもいいです。
I don't have to go to work tomorrow.
全部食べなくてもいいですよ。
ぜんぶたべなくてもいいですよ。
You don't have to eat all of it.

Grammar explanations and example sentences written for NihongoTech.