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

  • 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.

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)けっ放(ぱな)しにした。

    Someone left the door open.

    ライトをつけっ放(ぱな)しにしないで。

    Don't leave the light on.

    電話(でんわ)が鳴(な)りっ放(ぱな)しだけど…大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)？

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

    いつも開(あ)けっ放(ぱな)しで、ちゃんと閉(し)めてよね。

    You always leave it open, make sure you close it ok?

    水(みず)を出(だ)しっ放(ぱな)しにするのはやめてください。

    Please stop leaving the water on.

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っぱなし – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (7 in total)

  • cineebon

    cineebon

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

  • Daru

    Daru

    They delisted the video because they’ve updated it.

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

  • JandroSantiago

    JandroSantiago

    There is a line in 耳をすませば (Whisper of the Heart) that uses this, but slightly different.

    Here’s the line:
    雫スタンドちゃんと消しな昨日つけっ放しだったよ。

    This doesn’t follow the same form as the grammar point, but it seems to mean the same thing.

    Could anyone help me understand?

    Edit: right after posting, I saw that the title of this thread has this version, but the grammar point doesn’t mention it. Do we know why?

    Edit 2: I looked again, and this form is used in the second example sentence in the write-up (though it is not highlighted), but there’s no explanation about the difference between the forms.

    @Daru

    Edit 3: Just realized that I just wasn’t understanding the kanji usage. I thought the なし was a type of negative, but the な is just part of the kanji reading lol

    I’ll leave this post up just because that one part of the sentence could be highlighted, but the rest I understand now, haha

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