ちゃう

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Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Contraction of しまう (-te shimau).[1][2][3]

/-te ɕimau//-t͡ɕimau//-t͡ɕau/

Suffix

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ちゃう (-chau

  1. (colloquial) contraction of しまう
Usage notes
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Attaches to what would be the regular -te form for the verb. Examples:

If the regular -te form of the verb results in voicing from -te to -de, that voicing carries over to the abbreviated form.

Synonyms
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Etymology 2

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Contraction of 違う (chigau).

/t͡ɕiɡau//t͡ɕau/

Verb

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ちゃう (chauintransitive

  1. (colloquial, Kansai) synonym of 違う (chigau)
  2. (colloquial, Kansai) synonym of じゃない (ja nai)
    ()(さい)あまり()ちゃう
    yasai wa amari suki chau
    don't really like vegetables
Usage notes
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The contracted form is limited to the 終止形 (shūshikei, terminal or predicate form) and 連体形 (rentaikei, attributive form), appearing in the 常体 (jōtai, plain form, dictionary form) of ちゃう (chau) and the 敬体 (keitai, polite form, masu form) of ちゃいます (chaimasu).

Trivia

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Used in a famous Kansai dialect pun, punning on ちゃうちゃう (chauchau, Chow Chow (dog)), ちゃうちゃう (chau-chau, no, no), ちゃう (chau, isn’t it?), and ちゃう (chau, no (it isn’t)). One variant is:

ちゃうちゃうちゃう
Chauchau chau?
Isn’t that a chow chow?
ちゃうちゃう、ちゃうちゃうちゃう
Chau-chau, chauchau chau.
No no, it’s not a chow chow.

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN