Casual speech often compresses familiar verb endings.
The idea
In ている, the い may drop: 読んでいる becomes 読んでる. In てしまう, てしま contracts to ちゃ; after で it becomes じゃ: 食べちゃった and 飲んじゃった come from 食べてしまった and 飲んでしまった. しまう can express completion or regret, depending on context.
| Full form | Casual form |
|---|---|
| 読んでいる | 読んでる |
| 食べてしまった | 食べちゃった |
| 飲んでしまった | 飲んじゃった |
Examples
- 今、本を読んでる。I’m reading a book now.
- 何をしてるの？What are you doing?
- ケーキを食べちゃったよ。I ate the cake up.
- 傘を忘れちゃった。ごめん。I forgot my umbrella.
- お茶を全部、飲んじゃった。I drank all the tea.
- 電車はもう行っちゃった。The train has already left.
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Watch out
These forms are informal, so use full forms in formal writing and polite situations. ちゃう does not always signal regret.
Try it yourself
「読んでいる」の話し言葉は？
Show answer or example answer
読んでる
読んでる: い drops from 読んでいる.
「食べてしまった」の話し言葉は？
Show answer or example answer
食べちゃった
食べちゃった: てしまった contracts to ちゃった.
「飲んでしまった」の話し言葉は？
Show answer or example answer
飲んじゃった
飲んじゃった: でしまった contracts to じゃった.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
「読んでいる」の話し言葉は？
「食べてしまった」の話し言葉は？
「飲んでしまった」の話し言葉は？
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Read each example aloud, restore the full ending, then cover the table and answer the three questions.