て-form Compounds – Japanese Cheat Sheet

The て-form is one of the most powerful building blocks in Japanese. By attaching different endings to it, you can express direction, result, attempt, regret, preparation, and more. These six compound forms all start from the て-form but carry totally different meanings and they're all extremely common.

Form	Core meaning	Image
〜ていく	do and go / keep doing (moving away from now)	→ outward / into the future
〜てくる	do and come / have started doing (moving toward now)	← inward / toward speaker
〜てある	something has been done and is in that state	結果 result still in place
〜てみる	try doing (to see what happens)	試し an attempt
〜てしまう	end up doing / do completely (often with regret)	完了 done, can't undo
〜ておく	do in advance / leave it done for later	準備 prepare ahead

1. 〜ていく going away, continuing outward

Literally "do and go" the action moves away from the speaker, or continues into the future away from the present moment. Think of it as an outward arrow: →

傘かさを持もっていきます。I'll take an umbrella with me (as I go). (physical departure)

気温きおんが下さがっていく。The temperature is going to keep dropping. (ongoing change into the future)

社会しゃかいは変わっかわっていくだろう。Society will continue to change. (gradual change moving forward)

2. 〜てくる coming toward, change up to now

Literally "do and come" the action approaches the speaker, or something has been building up to the present. The inward arrow: ←

飲のみ物ものを買っかってきます。I'll go buy something to drink (and come back). (errand, returning to speaker)

日本語にほんごが上手うまくなってきた。My Japanese has gotten better (over time up to now). (gradual change toward present)

雨あめが降っふってきた。It started raining (and now it's raining here). (onset, coming toward)

眠ねむくなってきた。I'm starting to get sleepy. (a state coming on gradually)

3. 〜てある result state, intentionally prepared

Something was done (by someone, often implied), and the result is still in place. It's used with transitive verbs and implies intentionality someone did it on purpose. Compare with ている which describes ongoing states.

窓まどが開あけてある。The window has been opened (and left open). (someone opened it intentionally)

予約よやくが入れいれてあります。A reservation has been made. (it's in place for a reason)

名前なまえが書いかいてある。A name has been written. (the writing is still there)

4. 〜てみる try doing (to see what happens)

みる literally means "to see/look". 〜てみる = "do it and see". It expresses attempting something without certainty of outcome curiosity-driven action. Very natural whenever you try something new.

この料理りょうりを食べたべてみた。I tried eating this dish. (to see how it tasted)

電話でんわしてみます。I'll try calling (to see if it works).

もう一度いちどやってみよう。Let's try once more.

日本に住んすんでみたい。I want to try living in Japan.

5. 〜てしまう done completely, often with regret

しまう literally means "to put away / finish". 〜てしまう means the action is completely done often with a sense of regret or surprise that it happened. In casual speech, contracted to てしまった → ちゃった (past) / てしまう → ちゃう.

財布さいふを忘れわすれてしまった。I forgot my wallet. (regret, oops)

ケーキを全部ぜんぶ食べたべてしまった。I ate all the cake. (done completely, maybe with guilt)

寝坊ねぼうしちゃった！I overslept! (casual contracted form of てしまった)

宿題しゅくだいが終わっおわってしまった。楽らくだ！I'm done with my homework. (完了 without regret, just "done")

6. 〜ておく do in advance, prepare ahead

おく literally means "to put/set aside". 〜ておく means doing something ahead of time for a future purpose preparation or leaving something in a ready state. Casual contraction: ておく → とく / ておいて → といて.

予約よやくしておきます。I'll make the reservation in advance.

覚えおぼえておいてください。Please memorize this (for later use).

冷蔵庫れいぞうこに入れいれといて。Go ahead and put it in the fridge. (casual ておく → とく)

明日あしたのために、準備じゅんびしておこう。Let's prepare for tomorrow ahead of time.

Mental images: ていく → away/future. てくる → toward/past-to-now. てある → result still in place. てみる → experiment. てしまう → done, often "oops". ておく → prep for later.