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Completed Actions: てしまう

しまう is an auxiliary verb which is used to indicate the completion of an action.

しまう follows a verb in its te-form, for example:

  • 本を読んでしまいました。
    I have finished reading the book.

  • もう宿題をしてしまった？
    Have you finished your homework yet?

しまう can also be used to express regret or criticism of an the action that has been completed. Whether or not it is used to imply regret or criticism should be judged by the context of the sentence. For example, the following sentence has multiple meanings depending on the context of the sentence:

  • ケーキを食べてしまった。
    Definition 1: I finished eating the cake.

Definition 2: I ate the cake (with regret).

As しまう is used to express the idea of an action being completed in its entirety, it is often used in combination with adverbs such as すっかり, 全部 and 完全に.

In Speech​

In speech, てしまう is contracted to ちゃう and でしまう is contracted to じゃう, for example:

  • 本を読んでじゃった。
    I have finished reading the book.

  • もう宿題をしてちゃいましたか。
    Have you finished your homework yet?

ちゃう and じゃう are conjugated as u-verbs.

Example Sentences​

  • 彼女は出て行ってしまった。
    She has gone out.

  • 住所を忘れてしまいました。
    I have forgotten the address.

  • あなたはボストンに行ってしまったのだと思っていました。
    I thought you'd gone to Boston?

  • 驚いたことに私達は勝ってしまった。
    Surprisingly, we won.

  • ガソリンスタンドを探しましょう。燃料がなくなってしまいました。
    Let's find a gasoline stand, we've run out of fuel (lit. the fuel has finished.)

  • 「君はとっつきにくいね」と社長に言われてしまいました。
    My boss told me it's hard to approach me

  • トムはフェンスのペンキ塗りの最中、シャツにペンキをつけてしまった。
    Tom got paint on his shirt while he was painting the fence.