Shimau (Shimaimasu)
Sorry for not updating this site for so long. Today, I will cover the word “Shimau”. If you have spoken to a Japanese, you will notice that many of them use this word very very often. This word is special because you can use it in most of the conversation.
“Shimau” means “to complete something” and “doing something unexpectedly”.
Shimau or Shimaimasu (Present Tense) ; Shimatta or Shimaimashita (Past Tense)
Example 1
Q: Sengetsu no shinbun, mada arimasu ka. 「先月の新聞、まだありますか。」
Q: Do you still have last month newspaper?
A: Iie, iranakunatta node, kinō (moyasu)moyashite shimaimashita 「いいえ、いらなくなったので、昨日燃やしてしまいました。」
A: No, since I don’t need them, I have burned them yesterday
Example 2
Q: Ima mo bōeki no shigoto o yatte iru desu ka 「いまも貿易の仕事をやっているですか。
Q: Are you still working in a trading firm now?
A: Iie, Ano kaisha wa tōsan shita node, (yameru)yamete shimaimashita 「いいえ、あの会社は倒産したので、辞めてしまいました。
A: No, I have resigned because that company gone bankrupt.
Feedburner








January 11th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
good post and nice blog….
good luck for this owner….
January 28th, 2009 at 6:03 am
thanks for the lessons, is this your last update. hoping to learm more lessons from you. thanks again.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Hi Giselle,
No, it is not an end yet. Just got a bit busy these days. Will update more soon. Stay tune!
Thanks for the support
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:03 am
Great!Keep them coming. I am enjoying them. Can you please tell me the relationship between chatta and shimatta? Someone told me that they mean the same thing.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Hi Clement,
Yes, they mean the same. “Chatta” is used for friend’s conversation where “shimata” is a little polite. Only the formation is a little different. Example:
Tabete shimatta
Tabechatta
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Thanks. I learnt about “shimatta” in class. But of late, I hear people say “chatta” quite often.I will be coming back here more often to learn more Nihongo so that I can also become perapera with Nihongo