JapaneseJLPT
JLPT N3 grammar · Chapter 22

～っぱなし

Leave a state unchanged or keep an action going

You’ll be able to describe leaving the result of an action unattended or continuing an action without a break, recognizing the often unwelcome consequences.

Illustration of the scene described by I ended up falling asleep with the campervan lights left switched on.
Read it first

キャンピングカーの明あかりをつけっぱなしで寝ねてしまいました。

kyanpingu kaa no akari o tsukeppanashi de nete shimaimashita.

What do you think this sentence means?

I ended up falling asleep with the campervan lights left switched on.

Why it means that

Leave an action unattended or continuous

Attach っぱなし to the verb stem to describe leaving a state unchanged after an action without taking necessary follow-up care ("leave on/open").

Examples

水みずを出だしっぱなしにしないでね。

mizu o dashippanashi ni shinaide ne.

Don't leave the water running.

電車でんしゃが混こんでいて、一時間いちじかん立たちっぱなしだった。

densha ga konde ite, ichijikan tachippanashi datta.

The train was crowded, so I was standing the whole hour.

How it is built

Attach っぱなし to the masu-stem

Remove ます from the verb stem and attach っぱなし. Common examples include 開あけっぱなし (left open), つけっぱなし (left turned on), and 立たちっぱなし (standing continuously).

verb (masu-stem)+っぱなし
Example

窓まどを開あけっぱなしにして出でかけてしまった。

mado o akeppanashi ni shite dekakete shimatta.

I ended up going out leaving the window wide open.

Compare

～たまま vs ～っぱなし

Both say something stays as it was. ～たまま is neutral. ～っぱなし adds that it was left that way carelessly, so it usually sounds like a complaint.

  • ～たまま, as it is (neutral)

    ドアを開あけたまま寝ねてしまった。

    doa o aketa mama nete shimatta.

    I fell asleep with the door open.

    Neutral: that was the state.

  • ～っぱなし, left carelessly

    ドアを開あけっぱなしで寝ねてしまった。

    doa o akeppanashi de nete shimatta.

    I fell asleep having left the door wide open.

    Left open and forgotten; sounds careless.

Examples

玄関げんかんに自転車じてんしゃを置おきっぱなしにしないで、ちゃんと片付かたづけなさい。

genkan ni jitensha o okippanashi ni shinaide, chanto katazukenasai.

Don’t leave your bicycle lying at the entrance; put it away properly.

友達ともだちにマンガを借かりっぱなしで、もう一年いちねんも返かえしていない。

tomodachi ni manga o karippanashi de, mou ichinen mo kaeshite inai.

I borrowed a manga from a friend and never gave it back; it’s been a whole year.

今日きょうは一日中いちにちじゅう会議かいぎで、朝あさから座すわりっぱなしだった。

kyou wa ichinichijuu kaigi de, asa kara suwarippanashi datta.

I had meetings all day today, so I was sitting the whole time from the morning.

7 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.