Leave… on, keep…ing: 〜っぱなし
Verb ます-stem + っぱなし
ます-stem + っぱなし: leaving something the way you left it, through neglect (つけっぱなし), or doing something non-stop (立ちっぱなし). Casual register.
In short
〜っぱなし means you did something and then left the situation as it was, without dealing with it: 電気をつけっぱなし, “leaving the light on (and not turning it off)”. The tone is often reproachful. With some verbs, it also means “non-stop”: 立ちっぱなし, “standing the whole time”.
- また電気をつけっぱなしにして！またでんきをつけっぱなしにして！You've left the light on again!
- 水を出しっぱなしにしないでね。みずをだしっぱなしにしないでね。Don't leave the tap running, OK?
- 今日は一日中立ちっぱなしで、足が痛い。きょうはいちにちじゅうたちっぱなしで、あしがいたい。I was on my feet all day today, and my feet hurt.
The basics
っぱなし comes from 放す (はなす, to let go). The idea: you do something, then let it go, you stop dealing with it. The result is left lying around: the light stays on, the water keeps running, things are left on the floor — English “leave… on”, “leave… lying around”.
It's an everyday word, used a lot for telling people off at home: 出しっぱなし (leave lying around), 開けっぱなし (leave open), つけっぱなし (leave on).
Don't leave the light on.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- particle
- 服を出しっぱなしにしないで、片付けなさい。ふくをだしっぱなしにしないで、かたづけなさい。Don't leave your clothes lying around; put them away.
- 冷蔵庫が開けっぱなしだよ。れいぞうこがあけっぱなしだよ。The fridge door's been left open!
How to form it
Take the ます-stem (without ます) and attach っぱなし. The word behaves like a noun: 〜っぱなしだ, 〜っぱなしにする (to leave it like that), 〜っぱなしの + noun, 〜っぱなしで (in that state).
| Verb | ます-stem | っぱなし | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| つける | つけ | つけっぱなし | left on |
| 開ける | 開け | 開けっぱなし | left open |
| 出す | 出し | 出しっぱなし | left out, lying around, running |
| 立つ | 立ち | 立ちっぱなし | standing non-stop |
| 負ける | 負け | 負けっぱなし | loss after loss |
- つけっぱなしのテレビを消した。つけっぱなしのてれびをけした。I turned off the TV that had been left on.
- 朝から働きっぱなしで、休む暇もない。あさからはたらきっぱなしで、やすむひまもない。I've been working non-stop since this morning, with no time to breathe.
っぱなし or まま?
〜たまま objectively describes a state that doesn't change: 窓を開けたまま寝た, “I slept with the window open” (maybe deliberately, to keep cool). 〜っぱなし adds that you neglected to deal with it: 窓を開けっぱなしで寝た implies “I forgot to close it”.
Another difference: っぱなし can express the continuation of an action (立ちっぱなし, 働きっぱなし, 負けっぱなし), which まま doesn't.
| Sentence | Nuance |
|---|---|
| 窓を開けたままにする | leave the window open (neutral, deliberate or not) |
| 窓を開けっぱなしにする | leave the window open (neglect, reproach) |
- 暑いので、窓を開けたままにしておいた。あついので、まどをあけたままにしておいた。It was hot, so I left the window open.
Common mistakes
- Attaching っぱなし to the て- or た-form: it's the ます-stem (つけっぱなし, not “つけたっぱなし”).
- Using it in a formal context: っぱなし is casual, for conversation.
- Forgetting the small っ: you write and pronounce it “っぱなし”, with a slight pause before ぱ.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N3 point is on the Eizan Line (The body and health) of the Kyoto lines.