てしまう

てしまう Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Auxiliary Verb

Essential Meaning: Do X completely / Finish doing X / Accidentally do X

Construction: 

• Verb て-Form + しまう
  • E.g. 話はなしてしまう [Completely finish speaking]
  • E.g. 食たべてしまう [Completely finish eating]

Notes:

• しまう is an auxiliary verb that indicates the completion of some action. It is often paired with degree adverbs such as すっかり [Completely] or 全部ぜんぶ [All / Entirely]
  • E.g. マイクはすっかり日本語にほんごを忘わすれてしまった。[Mike completely forgot Japanese.]
  • E.g. 私わたしは持もっていた切符きっぷを全部ぜんぶ友達ともだちにあげてしまった。[Mike gave away all of his tickets to his friends.]

• The past tense form てしまった can also express the idea that someone did something that they shouldn’t have done, or that something has happened that shouldn’t have happened. It can imply regret on the agent’s part or it can imply the speaker’s criticism or regret about someone else’s actions or something that has happened.
  • E.g. ジェリーはペギーのケーキを食たべてしまった。 [Jerry regrettably ate Peggy’s cake.]
  • E.g. 私わたしは違ちがうバスに乗のってしまった。[I accidentally took the wrong bus.]
  • E.g. 雨あめが降ふってしまったのでピクニックに行いけなかった。[It unfortunately rained, so I wasn’t able to go to the picnic.]

• Whether てしまった is interpreted as regret / criticism or simply as the completion of an action depends on the context.
  • E.g. 僕ぼくはお酒さけを飲のんでしまった。[I finished drinking sake / I (regrettably) drank sake.]

• In casual speech, てしまう and でしまう are often contracted as ちゃう and じゃう respectively.
  • E.g. 話はなしてしまう = 話はなしちゃう
  • E.g. 飲のんでしまう = 飲のんじゃう

• ちまう and じまう are another contracted form that is generally only used by male speakers.
  • E.g. 話はなしてしまう = 話はなしちまう
  • E.g. 飲のんでしまう = 飲のんじまう

• The difference between てしまう and the regular past tense verb form (e.g. しました) is that てしまう expresses the full completion of an action independent of the time frame. In other words, it is not limited to the past tense.
  • E.g. ここに置おいておくとジムが食たべてしまうよ。[If I leave this here, Jim will eat it.] This example describes a complete action that will occur in the future.
  • E.g. *ここに置おいておくとジムが食たべたよ。 [If I leave this here, Jim ate it.] This construction does not makes sense. The regular て-Form would better express this past-tense causal relationship.

• てしまう is also similar to ~おわる. The differences are:
  • (1) ~おわる indicates the action of finishing something, while てしまう indicates the state of some action being completed.
    • E.g. 私わたしは本ほんを読よみ終おわった。[I completed the action of reading the book.]
    • E.g. 私わたしは本ほんを読よんでしまった。[I am in the state of having read the book in its entirety.]
  • (2) てしまう cannot occur with specific time phrases, but ~おわる can.
    • E.g. 昨日きのうその本ほんを読よみ終おわった。[I finished reading that book yesterday.]
    • E.g. *昨日きのうその本ほんを読よんでしまった。[Yesterday, I completely read that book.] てしまう cannot be used with specific time phrases.
    • E.g. 今朝けさ9時じにやっとレポートを書かき終おわった。 [This morning at 9 AM I finally finished writing my report.]
    • E.g. *今朝けさ9時じにやっとレポートを書かいてしまった。[This morning at 9 AM I finally completely wrote my report.] てしまう cannot be used with specific time phrases.
  • (3) しまう can be used with non-controllable verbs such as 忘わすれる [To forget], while ~おわる cannot.
    • E.g. 僕ぼくはナンシーの住所じゅうしょを忘わすれてしまった。[I accidentally forgot Nancy’s address.]
    • E.g. *僕ぼくはナンシーの住所じゅうしょを忘わすれ終おわった。[I completed the action of forgetting Nancy’s address.]

Example Sentences:

池田いけだくんは三日みっかでその本ほんを読よんでしまった。[Ikeda-kun completely finished reading that book in three days.]

私わたしはルームメートのミルクを飲のんでしまった。[I accidentally drank my roommate’s milk.]

もう宿題しゅくだいをしてしまいましたか。[Have you completely finished doing your homework?]

私わたしは今日中きょうじゅうにそのレポートを書かいてしまおうと思おもっている。[I think I will completely finish writing that report by the end of today.]

早はやくご飯はんを食たべてしまいなさい。 [Finish eating quickly.]

シチューを作つくりすぎてしまいました。[I accidentally made too much stew.]

WILD Examples:

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