N3 Casual, Colloquial, and Alternative Forms

縮約形しゅくやくけい (Contraction): meaning, usage and examples

縮約形しゅくやくけい (Contraction) means: contractions (e.g., ~とく, ~ちゃう).

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. コーヒー、買かっといたよ。

   I bought coffee for you, you know.

2. 宿題しゅくだい、全部ぜんぶやっちゃった。

   I finished all my homework. (contraction of やってしまった)

3. あ、かさを電車でんしゃに忘わすれちゃった。

   Oh no, I left my umbrella on the train.

4. じゃあ、明日あしたは休やすみってこと？

   So you mean we have tomorrow off?

When to use it

In everyday conversation, Japanese speakers shorten common endings. 食たべている becomes 食たべてる, 忘わすれてしまった becomes 忘わすれちゃった, 行いかなければ becomes 行いかなきゃ, 買かっておく becomes 買かっとく, and ということ becomes ってこと. The meaning does not change; only the sound gets shorter. You will hear these forms all the time in dramas, anime, and casual talk with friends.

Nuance

Casual speech and text messages only. Avoid them in essays, business emails, and formal speech to a boss or teacher. In friendly speech they can mix with polite endings (忘わすれちゃいました), which sounds soft and natural with coworkers, but the full forms are safer in formal settings.

Compare

Watch the て/で split: 読よんでしまう -> 読よんじゃう and 読よんでおく -> 読よんどく, not ちゃう or とく. ちゃ (from ては) is different from ちゃう: 食たべちゃだめ = you must not eat it; 食たべちゃう = I will eat it all up. なきゃ usually drops the ending: 行いかなきゃ (= 行いかなければならない).

Tip: To read a contraction, put the full form back: てる -> ている, とく -> ておく. If the verb's て-form uses で, the contraction uses じゃ or ど.