Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 10/20

っぱなし

Leaving something in a certain state, Left as is, Keep on -ing

Structure

Verb［ます］+ っぱなし

Details

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    Standard

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    一般

Rare Kanji

放し

About っぱなし

っぱなし is a suffix that originally comes from the う - Verb 放(はな)す 'to let loose'. When attached to the conjunctive form of verbs, it is used to indicate that something has been 'left' in a certain state. っぱなし is almost exclusively used negatively.
  • また電気(でんき)点(つ)けっぱなしじゃん！何回(なんかい)言(い)えば消(け)してくれるの？
    You left the light on again! How many times do I have to tell you to turn it off?
  • 冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)を開(あ)けっ放(ぱな)しにしないで下(くだ)さい。
    Please don't leave the refrigerator open.
  • 歯(は)を磨(みが)いている間(あいだ)、水(みず)を出(だ)しっぱなしにしていたら、お母(かあ)さんに怒(おこ)られた。
    Because I left the water on while I was brushing my teeth, my mother scolded me.
Fun Fact
Although 放(はな)す means 'to let loose', っぱなし conveys a feeling that is closer to 'being unchecked'. This means っぱなし can be used to convey that 'the act of (A)' is continuing without anyone there to stop it, or that the 'state of (A)' is continuing without anyone there to stop it. Which meaning is conveyed will depend mostly on the (A) verb.
  • 勝(か)ちっぱなしだとつまらないね、たまには負(ま)けを味(あじ)わいたい。
    Don't you think it is boring to keep winning? I want to taste defeat sometimes. (I want to lose sometimes)
  • 秋(あき)の間(あいだ)は窓(まど)を開(あ)けっぱなしにして寝(ね)ています。
    During autumn, I sleep with the windows left open.

Examples

  • 誰(だれ)かがそのドアを開(あ)けっぱなしにした。

    Someone left the door open.

  • ライトをつけっぱなしにしないで。

    Don't leave the light on.

  • 渋滞(じゅうたい)のせいで、１０分(ぷん)間(かん)止(と)まりっぱなしだった。

    Because of the traffic, I was at a standstill for ten minutes.

  • 電話(でんわ)が鳴(な)りっぱなしだけど…大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)？

    Your phone keeps ringing... Is that not a problem?

  • 3時間(じかん)も立(た)ちっぱなしで、足(あし)が棒(ぼう)になってしまいました。

    I kept standing for 3 hours, now my legs feel as heavy as lead.

    足が棒になる means 'to have one's legs get stiff'.

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っぱなし – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • matt_in_mito

    matt_in_mito

    About 3 years ago

    Yeah this comes up in conversation all the time, and I’ve found it doesn’t always carry the negative nuance either, although grammatically speaking it does so it’s probably better to remember it that way as a language learner.

  • cineebon

    cineebon

    About 1 year ago

    The nihongo no mori video has been made private. Does anyone have another link to it?

  • Daru

    Daru

    About 1 year ago

    They delisted the video because they’ve updated it.

    I added the new one to the resources, thank you for pointing that out!

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