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Definition 2025
ちゃう
ちゃう
Japanese
Suffix
ちゃう (romaji -chau)
- (colloquial) Same as てしまう (te shimau).
Usage notes
Attaches to the continuative form of a verb.
Synonyms
- てしまう (teshimau), ちまう (chimau)
- (Kansai) てまう (temau)
Etymology 2
From 違う (chigau).
/t͡ɕigau/ → /t͡ɕau/
Verb
ちゃう (intransitive, godan conjugation, romaji chau)
Conjugation
Conjugation of "ちゃう" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective (未然形) | ちゃわ | chawa | |
| Continuative (連用形) | ちゃい | chai | |
| Terminal (終止形) | ちゃう | chau | |
| Attributive (連体形) | ちゃう | chau | |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | ちゃえ | chae | |
| Imperative (命令形) | ちゃえ | chae | |
| Key constructions | |||
| Passive | ちゃわれる | chawareru | |
| Causative | ちゃわせる ちゃわす |
chawaseru chawasu |
|
| Potential | ちゃえる | chaeru | |
| Volitional | ちゃおう | chaō | |
| Negative | ちゃわない | chawanai | |
| Negative continuative | ちゃわず | chawazu | |
| Formal | ちゃいます | chaimasu | |
| Perfective | ちゃった | chatta | |
| Conjunctive | ちゃって | chatte | |
| Hypothetical conditional | ちゃえば | chaeba | |
Synonyms
- (standard Japanese) じゃない (janai)
Trivia
Used in a famous Kansai dialect pun, punning on ちゃうちゃう (“chow chow (dog)”), ちゃうちゃう (“no, no”), ちゃう (“isn’t it?”), and ちゃう (“no (it isn’t)”). One variant is:
- A: ちゃうちゃうちゃう？
- Isn’t [that] [a] chow chow?
- B: ちゃうちゃう、ちゃうちゃうちゃう。
- No, no – [it’s] not [a] chow chow.
External links
- 関西弁が分かる方に質問です。 Ａ「あれ、ちゃうちゃうちゃう？」Ｂ「ちゃうちゃ... – one version of the pun