しまう

しまう

Japanese

Alternative spellings
終う 了う 仕舞う

Etymology 1

From root shim-, cognate with classical verb 締む (shimu, “to fasten, tighten”) and modern verb 閉まる (shimaru, “to be closed”) +‎ ふ (fu, auxiliary verb indicating repetition or ongoing action).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しまう [shìmáú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɕima̠ɯ̟ᵝ]

• Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "しまう"

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	しまう	しまう	[shìmáú]
Imperative (命令形)	しまえ	しまえ	[shìmáé]
Key constructions
Passive	しまわれる	しまわれる	[shìmáwárérú]
Causative	しまわせる	しまわせる	[shìmáwásérú]
Potential	しまえる	しまえる	[shìmáérú]
Volitional	しまおう	しまお​ー	[shìmáóꜜò]
Negative	しまわない	しまわない	[shìmáwánáí]
Negative perfective	しまわなかった	しまわな​かった	[shìmáwánáꜜkàttà]
Formal	しまいます	しまいま​す	[shìmáímáꜜsù]
Perfective	しまった	しまった	[shìmáttá]
Conjunctive	しまって	しまって	[shìmátté]
Hypothetical conditional	しまえば	しまえ​ば	[shìmáéꜜbà]

Verb

しまう • (shimau) ^{←しまふ (simafu)?} godan (stem しまい (shimai), past しまった (shimatta))

1. to close
2. to finish, do something completely
3. to put away, to put an end to
4. (auxiliary) after the conjunctive て (-te) form of a verb:
   1. is, or was (with conjugation), done completely
   2. happens, or happened, unexpectedly

      彼(かの)女(じょ)は大(おお)阪(さか)に行(い)ってしまいました。 ― Kanojo wa Ōsaka ni itte shimaimashita. ― She just (up and) went to Osaka.

   3. is done with difficulty
   4. happens, or is done with regret afterward; end up

      あなたは笑(わら)われてしまうでしょう。 ― anata wa warawarete shimau deshō. ― You will be laughed at (and you won't like it).

Usage notes

• The auxiliary use is always appended to the conjunctive (-te form) of a verb.
• てしまう (-te shimau) and でしまう (-de shimau) can be contracted to ちゃう (-chau) and ぢゃう (-jau). These two forms conjugate like godan verbs and are often used in casual speech.

  忘(わす)れちゃった！ ― wasurechatta! ― I forgot!

• There are also ちまう (-chimau) and ぢまう (-jimau), which sound old-fashioned.
• Due to changes in spelling rules during the 20th century, the voiced versions ぢゃう (-jau) and ぢまう (-jimau) may be more commonly encountered as じゃう (-jau) and じまう (-jimau).

Conjugation

Conjugation of "しまう" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	しまわ	shimawa
Continuative (連用形)	しまい	shimai
Terminal (終止形)	しまう	shimau
Attributive (連体形)	しまう	shimau
Hypothetical (仮定形)	しまえ	shimae
Imperative (命令形)	しまえ	shimae
Key constructions
Passive	しまわれる	shimawareru
Causative	しまわせる しまわす	shimawaseru shimawasu
Potential	しまえる	shimaeru
Volitional	しまおう	shimaō
Negative	しまわない	shimawanai
Negative continuative	しまわず	shimawazu
Formal	しまいます	shimaimasu
Perfective	しまった	shimatta
Conjunctive	しまって	shimatte
Hypothetical conditional	しまえば	shimaeba

Classical conjugation of "しまふ" (ハ行四段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	しまは		simafa
Continuative (連用形)	しまひ		simafi
Terminal (終止形)	しまふ		simafu
Attributive (連体形)	しまふ		simafu
Realis (已然形)	しまへ		simafe
Imperative (命令形)	しまへ		simafe
Key constructions
Negative	しまはず		simafazu
Contrasting conjunction	しまへど		simafedo
Causal conjunction	しまへば		simafeba
Conditional conjunction	しまはば		simafaba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	しまひき		simafiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	しまひけり		simafikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action)	しまひつ		simafitu
Perfect tense (natural event)	しまひぬ		simafinu
Perfect-continuative tense	しまへり しまひたり		simaferi simafitari
Volitional	しまはむ		simafamu

Derived terms

• しまい (shimai)
• ちまう (chimau)
• しまった (shimatta)
• しもうた (shimouta)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of しまう – see the following entry.

【鷙猛しもう】 [adjective] (rare) fierce; cruel; violent

(This term, しまう, is a historical hiragana spelling of the above term.)

(The following entry is uncreated: 四孟.)

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN