When to use 〜てある [te aru], 〜ておく [te oku] and 〜てしまう [te shimau] in Japanese?

〜てある (transcribed te aru) will always follow a transitive verb. The noun that has undergone a change-of-state will be the subject of the sentence.

The form of ある (transcribed aru) can change to reflect tense or politeness.

Use the ending 〜てある (transcribed te aru) when someone changed something, and the resulting state is still in effect. Let’s look at some situations where you might want to use this ending.

• A task has (or hasn’t!) been completed

  You can use 〜てある (transcribed te aru) to mark a task has been completed. Let’s look at a scenario!

  You are leaving home. Because you know that your roommate will be home soon, you text them…

  ヒーターがつけてあるよ。夜ご飯も作ってあるよ。

  Transcription: Hītā ga tsukete aru yo. Yorugohan mo tsukutte aru yo.

  Translation: The heater is on. Also, dinner has been made.

  Later, your roommate texts back and says:

  色々してくれてありがとう。風呂は掃除してなかったみたいだから、したよ。

  Transcription: Iroiro shite kurete arigatō. Furo wa sōji shite nakatta mitai da kara, shita yo.

  Translation: Thanks for doing many things. But, it seemed that the bath was not cleaned, so I did it.

• You’ve finished preparing for something

  〜てある (transcribed te aru) can be also used to show that you’ve finished the preparations for something. In this case, you may not see the result of the action firsthand, but you know whatever you prepared is still ready.

  • まだ、11月だけど、子供のためのクリスマスプレゼントはもう買ってある。

    Transcription: Mada jūichigatsu da kedo, kodomo no tame no kurisumasu purezento wa mō katte aru.

    Translation: It’s still November, but I’ve already bought a Christmas present for my child.
  • 年末の家族旅行の計画が立ててある。そして、ホテルもすでに予約してある。

    Transcription: Nenmatsu no kazoku ryokō no keikaku ga tatete aru. Soshi te, hoteru mo sude ni yoyaku shite aru.

    Translation: We’ve already planned our end-of-the-year family trip. Additionally, we've already booked a hotel.

    Literally: lit. The plan for the end-of-the year family trip has been made. The hotel has been already reserved.

Though the focus of a 〜てある (transcribed te aru) verb is usually on the result of a change, you can sometimes include the agent (or “do-er”) of the action explicitly. When you do this, the agent is the subject, and the noun that undergoes a change is marked as the direct object.

The ending 〜てある (transcribed te aru) is very similar to another ending: 〜ている (transcribed te iru). Both endings are composed of a -te form and a helping verb, and both can be used to talk about a situation that remains in place.

• 部屋の電気がつけてある。

  Transcription: Heya no denki ga tsukete aru.

  Translation: The lights of the room are on.
• 部屋の電気がついている。

  Transcription: Heya no denki ga tsuite iru.

  Translation: The lights of the room are on.

So what makes these endings different? An action marked with 〜てある (transcribed te aru) is always attached to a transitive verb, which means that the state a 〜てある (transcribed te aru) verb describes was always put in place intentionally, for a purpose, by a person.

While the situation described by a 〜ている (transcribed te iru) verb may theoretically have been the result of an intentional action, you’d generally use this in a situation where you observe the state, but aren’t claiming to know the reason for it.

If you include information about the reason or purpose for the action, you must use 〜てある (transcribed te aru), as this implies that the action was done on purpose. You cannot use 〜ている (transcribed te iru) in this instance.

〜ておく (transcribed te oku) is used to mark an action that was done to prepare for a future situation or event. Often this is something you do to make a future situation go more smoothly or so that you won’t need to worry about it later.

• あのレストランは混雑する可能性があるので、予約をしておいた方がいい。

  Transcription: Ano resutoran wa konzatsu suru kanōsei ga aru node, yoyaku o shite oita hō ga ii.

  Translation: Since that restaurant might get crowded, it’s better to make a reservation in advance.
• 明日は忙しくなるので、今日のうちにできることをしておきます。

  Transcription: Ashita wa isogashiku naru node, kyō no uchi ni dekiru koto o shite okimasu.

  Translation: I will be busy tomorrow, so I will do what I can do today in advance.
• カードを書いておいたので、金曜日の誕生日パーティーに持っていってね。

  Transcription: Kaado o kaite oita node, kinyōbi no tanjōbi pātī ni motte itte ne.

  Translation: I wrote a card, so please take it to Friday’s birthday party.

  Literally: lit. You wrote the card to prepare for the birthday party.

You can mark any verb for an intentional action or activity with 〜ておく (transcribed te oku), but we don’t use it with verbs for things that happen by themselves or for states that just exist.

Let’s look at a couple more specialized uses of this ending!

• Steps you take so you’re always prepared

  You can add 〜ておく (transcribed te oku) to an action that you do habitually, so that you’re prepared for the future.

  毎週末、一週間分の買い物をしておく。

  Transcription: Maishūmatsu, isshūkan bun no kaimono o shite oku.

  Translation: Every weekend, I do a whole week’s worth of shopping.

  Adding 〜ておく (transcribed te oku) makes it clear that you do this shopping so that you’re prepared for the week ahead.

• Leaving things in place for the future

  〜ておく (transcribed te oku) can be added to verbs for leaving things as they are, or for keeping things in a particular state. This implies that you’re keeping things as they are, since you’ll want them that way in the future.

  • 明日のお弁当に使いたいから、卵、食べないで残しといてね。

    Transcription: Ashita no obentō ni tsukai tai kara, tamago, tabenaide nokoshitoite ne.

    Translation: Please don’t eat the egg and leave it because I want to use it for tomorrow’s bento lunch.
  • 後で処理するから、ハンコが必要な書類はそのまま机の上においといてください。

    Transcription: Ato de shori suru kara, hanko ga hitsuyō na shorui wa sono mama tsukue no ue ni oitoite kudasai.

    Translation: Please leave any documents that require stamps on the desk. I will take care of them later.
  • トイレはいつも清潔に保っておくようにしている。

    Transcription: Toire wa itsumo seiketsu ni tamotte oku yō ni shite iru.

    Translation: I always make an effort to keep the restroom clean.

• Something done “just for now”

  You use 〜ておく (transcribed te oku) to mark an action done “just for now,” or “temporarily.” Most often, you’ll see words like 一時的に (transcribed ichiji teki ni, meaning “temporarily”) or とりあえず (transcribed toriaezu, meaning “for the time being”) used with this use of 〜ておく (transcribed te oku).

  Be careful though! You should only use this if you have social power over the person doing the action.

  • 子供には好きなことをさせておこう。

    Transcription: Kodomo ni wa sukina koto o sasete okō.

    Translation: Let’s have the child do what they want.
  • 今のうちに赤ちゃんを寝かせておかないと、後でぐずって困る。

    Transcription: Ima no uchi ni akachan o nekasete okanai to, ato de guzutte komaru.

    Translation: If we don’t make the baby sleep now, we’ll have trouble later from him getting fussy.

There are two different ways to make a verb marked by 〜ておく (transcribed te oku) negative. They’re used slightly differently.

• 〜ておかない (transcribed te okanai)

  By making the nelping verb おく (transcribed oku) negative, you indicate that you failed to prepare for the future. We saw this use in one of our examples above:

  今のうちに赤ちゃんを寝かせておかないと、後でぐずって困る。

  Transcription: Ima no uchi ni akachan o nekasete okanai to, ato de guzutte komaru.

  Translation: If we don’t make the baby sleep now, we’ll have trouble later from him getting fussy.

  If we fail to prepare by making the baby sleep, we’ll have trouble.

• 〜ないでおく (transcribed naide oku)

  By making the -te form negative, you indicate that you refrained from doing something as a way to prepare for the future.

  • お腹が痛いから、今日はあまり食べないでおきました。

    Transcription: Onaka ga itai kara, kyō wa amari tabenaide okimashita.

    Translation: My stomach hurts, so I didn’t eat much today.

    You are prepared because you didn’t eat too much.
  • 後で使うために、この紙は捨てないでおくね。

    Transcription: Ato de tsukau tame ni, kono kami wa sutenaide oku ne.

    Translation: I won’t throw this paper out so that I can use it later.

    You are prepared because you didn’t throw the paper out.

If you’re describing the result of an intentional past action, it’s possible to mark that action with any of the three endings we’ve discussed so far: 〜てある (transcribed te aru), 〜ておく (transcribed te oku), or 〜ている (transcribed te iru). So what’s the difference in meaning?

• 〜てある (transcribed te aru) should be used if you observe results of a past action and you know the action was done intentionally, generally by someone else.

  居間のテレビがつけてあった。

  Transcription: Ima no terebi ga tsukete atta.

  Translation: The TV was switched on in the living room.

  Someone (not me) turned the TV on through an intentional action. I was able to observe the results of that action.

  Notice that the noun that underwent a change (the TV) is the subject of the sentence! It’s marked with the subject particle が (transcribed ga).

• 〜ておく (transcribed te oku) should be used if you know you did the action to prepare for a future situation.

  居間のテレビをつけておいた。

  Transcription: Ima no terebi o tsukete oita.

  Translation: I got the TV turned on in the living room (in preparation).

  I turned it on, I did it to prepare for a future situation. It’s still on.

  Notice that, here, the noun that underwent a change (the TV) is the object of the sentence! It’s marked with the object particle を (transcribed o).

• 〜ている (transcribed te iru) should be used if you observed the result of the action, but you don’t want to imply anything about why it was done.

  居間のテレビがついていた。

  Transcription: Ima no terebi ga tsuite ita.

  Translation: The TV in the living room was (still) on.

  Though we assume someone turned it on at some point, there’s no real evidence it was done for any particular reason. You just want to focus on the fact that it was on.

  Notice that the sentence structure here is like the one we saw with 〜てある (transcribed te aru): the noun that underwent the change is the subject, marked with が (transcribed ga).

Let’s look at the main situations where you might want to use 〜てしまう (transcribed te shimau) in Japanese!

• “Finish up…”: Something is completed

  You can use 〜てしまう (transcribed te shimau) to mark an action that completely finishes something.

  • 今日中にこの本を読んでしまうつもりです。

    Transcription: Kyōjū ni kono hon o yonde shimau tsumori desu.

    Translation: I intend to finish reading this book today.

    Here is an instance where the non-past form is used to talk about the near future!
  • 今週の宿題、 終わっちゃった！

    Transcription: Konshū no shukudai, owatchatta!

    Translation: I’m completely done with this week’s homework!
  • ケーキ、食べちゃわなかったの？私が食べてあげようか。

    Transcription: Kēki, tabechawanakatta no? Watashi ga tabete ageyō ka.

    Translation: Didn’t you eat the cake? I can eat it for you.

• “Ended up…”: Dissatisfied with an outcome

  〜てしまう (transcribed te shimau) can also be used to express dissatisfaction, regret, or disappointment with an action.

  • 雨の中を傘もささずに歩いていたので、風邪を引いてしまいました。

    Transcription: Ame no naka o kasa mo sasazu ni aruite ita node, kaze o hīte shimaimashita.

    Translation: I ended up catching a cold because I was walking in the rain without an umbrella.
  • 知ってはいけないことを知ってしまった。

    Transcription: Shitte wa ikenai koto o shitte shimatta.

    Translation: I found out something I shouldn’t have known.
  • アルバイトの子に辞められてしまって、本当に困っている。

    Transcription: Arubaito no ko ni yamerarete shimatte, hontō ni komatte iru.

    Translation: The part-time worker ended up quitting the job so I’m in a real fix.

  Sometimes, 〜てしまう (transcribed te shimau) marks an action that was an accident or was otherwise unintentional. It often implies a lack of control over the action.

  • コーヒーをこぼしてしまった。

    Transcription: Kōhī o koboshite shimatta.

    Translation: I accidentally spilled the coffee.
  • 彼の行動が変だったので、思わず笑ってしまった。

    Transcription: Kare no kōdō ga hen datta node, omowazu waratte shimatta.

    Translation: I unintentionally laughed because his action was awkward.

The ending 〜ていた (transcribed te ita), which is the past tense of the 〜ている (transcribed te iru) form, is often used to discuss past finished actions. For example:

Sometimes, though, you may hear the 〜てしまう (transcribed te ita) form of 〜てしまう (transcribed te shimau) used instead: 〜てしまっていた (transcribed te shimatte ita). When this happens, the English translation may be identical to the translation used for the plain 〜てしまう (transcribed te ita) form.

Though the difference doesn’t always show up in an English translation, using 〜てしまっていた (transcribed te shimatte ita), carries the following implications:

1. Something irreversible has happened

2. The speaker somewhat regrets that it happened, or considers it unfortunate.

Let’s look at the implications of the two sentences we saw above.

• 警察が来た時には、もう犯人はその建物から逃げていた。

  Transcription: Keisatsu ga kita toki ni wa, mō han’nin wa sono tatemono kara nigete ita.

  Translation: By the time the police arrived, the criminal had already fled the building.

  This is a factual statement.
• 警察が来た時には、もう犯人はその建物から逃げてしまっていた。

  Transcription: Keisatsu ga kita toki ni wa, mō han’nin wa sono tatemono kara nigete shimatte ita.

  Translation: By the time the police arrived, the criminal had already fled the building.

  Now it’s too late. The criminal is gone and they’ll never catch him. Too bad!

Here’s another pair of examples:

• 会社を出た時には、もうすっかり暗くなっていた。

  Transcription: Kaisha o deta toki ni wa, mō sukkari kuraku natte ita.

  Translation: By the time I left the office, it was already completely dark.

  Literally: lit. …had become completely dark

  States a fact.
• 会社を出た時には、もうすっかり暗くなってしまっていた。

  Transcription: Kaisha o deta toki ni wa, mō sukkari kuraku natte shimatte ita.

  Translation: By the time I left the office, it was already completely dark.

  Literally: lit. …had finished becoming completely dark

  The speaker feels like they should have left earlier, before it got dark. Too bad!