了Time and change
Done, and gone wrong
~てしまう has two faces: finish something completely, or do something you wish you hadn't.
Two faces
Context tells you which
I finished reading this book.
Completion
I (stupidly) left my bag on the train.
Regret
Completion
All done, gone
I've finished all the laundry.
全部, “all”, often goes with this meaning.
My younger brother ate up all the cake.
Let's get this cleared up.
It isn't always in the past.
Regret
Oops, or too bad
I went and lost an important letter.
I forgot our appointment, I'm afraid.
My cat died.
It also works for things outside your control.
In speech
It contracts
てしまう becomes ちゃう, and でしまう becomes じゃう. You'll hear this constantly. ちまう and じまう are rougher, and mostly come from older male characters in films and manga.
| Full | Casual |
|---|---|
| 話してしまう | 話しちゃう |
| 飲んでしまう | 飲んじゃう |
| 話してしまった | 話しちゃった |
| 飲んでしまった | 飲んじゃった |
| 話してしまう | 話しちまう |
| 飲んでしまう | 飲んじまう |
Finish, in two ways
~終わる vs. ~てしまう
I finished writing the report.
Focuses on finishing that action.
I got the report written.
Focuses on it being done, and it works with verbs like 忘れる too.
Check yourself
Which feeling is it?
Your turn
Contract it
I ate it all.
Say it yourself
Bad day
Tell a friend you missed your train this morning and that, on top of that, you've finished up your last coins on coffee.
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