Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 3: 20/22

ちゃんとProperly, Neatly, Orderly, Sufficiently, Decently

Structure

ちゃんと(1) + Phrase
ちゃんと(1) + した + Noun
ちゃんと(1) + している

(1) きちんと

Details

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About ちゃんと・きちんと

In Japanese, two 副詞(ふくし) (adverbs) that are used to express very similar ideas are ちゃんと, and きちんと. These words may be used either at the beginning of a sentence (to modify the meaning of the whole sentence), or before verbs. ちゃんと and きちんと both translate quite closely to 'properly', or 'neatly'.

Fun Fact

Historically, ちゃんと was also used to convey 'quickly'. However, it is almost never used for this purpose in modern Japanese. Despite this, both ちゃんと and きちんと do have a slight nuance of doing something 'without dawdling'. This can mostly be attributed to the base meaning of 'properly' also implying that something is not done lazily.

  • 社長(しゃちょう)が来(き)たぞ。ちゃんと立(た)て。
    The CEO is here. Stand up, quick! (Stand up now, quickly, don't slouch)
  • 遊(あそ)びに行(い)く前(まえ)にきちんと部屋(へや)の掃除(そうじ)をしなさい。
    You have to clean your room properly before you go out and play.

Examples

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    妻(つま)：「ガスをちゃんと閉(し)めたか、わからない。」
    夫(おと)：「心配(しんぱい)しないで、僕(ぼく)がちゃんと閉(し)めたよ。」

    Wife: 'I don't know if I have properly turned the gas off (or not).'
    Husband: 'Don't worry, I have properly turned it off.'

    優(やさ)しい次長(じちょう)：「昼休(ひるやす)みなんだからちゃんと休(やす)んでね。」
    部下(ぶか)：「はい! わかりました、次長(じちょう)！」

    Gentle vice-director: 'It's lunch, so take a proper break.'
    Subordinate: 'Yes! Understood, vice-director!'

    友達(ともだち)との話(はなし)：「悪(わる)いことをしたならちゃんと謝(あやま)るものだ！」

    Chat between friends: 'If you have done something wrong, you are supposed to apologize properly!'

    母親(ははおや)は子供(こども)に言(い)う：「お祖母(ばあ)さんが来(く)る前(まえ)に部屋(へや)をきちんと片付(かたづ)けしなさい！」

    Mother speaking to her child: 'Clean your room properly before grandma comes!'

    大人(おとな)との話(はなし)、子供(こども)を褒(ほ)める：「あの子(こ)は、ちゃんとしてるわね。」

    Chat between adults, praising a child: 'This child behaves properly, don't they.' (has good manners)

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