〜てしまう te shimau

〜てしまう（te shimau）means “to do completely; to end up doing (regret)”. Attached to the て-form of a verb, しまう has two main meanings. Formation: V-て + しまう（口語: 〜ちゃう／〜じゃう）

to do completely; to end up doing (regret)

N4

Formation

V-て + しまう（口語: 〜ちゃう／〜じゃう）

Explanation

Attached to the て-form of a verb, しまう has two main meanings. (1) Completion: finishing an action entirely. (2) Regret / something unintended or unfortunate that happened. Context tells you which. In casual speech てしまう shrinks to ちゃう (and でしまう to じゃう).

Examples

宿題はもう全部やってしまいました。
しゅくだいはもうぜんぶやってしまいました。
I've already finished all my homework.
大切な書類をなくしてしまった。
たいせつなしょるいをなくしてしまった。
I went and lost an important document.

Note

ちゃう / じゃう is the everyday spoken form: 食べちゃった (ate it all / ate it up), 忘れちゃった (oops, forgot).

FAQ

〜てしまう — what does it mean and how is it used?

to do completely; to end up doing (regret). Attached to the て-form of a verb, しまう has two main meanings. (1) Completion: finishing an action entirely. (2) Regret / something unintended or unfortunate that happened. Context tells you which. In casual speech てしまう shrinks to ちゃう (and でしまう to じゃう).

〜てしまう — how do you form it?

V-て + しまう（口語: 〜ちゃう／〜じゃう）

〜てしまう — any usage notes?

ちゃう / じゃう is the everyday spoken form: 食べちゃった (ate it all / ate it up), 忘れちゃった (oops, forgot).

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