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Casual Japanese – the contractions in anime and conversation

The contractions you hear every day, each next to the full form it came from.

〜ている

〜ている → 〜てる

an action in progress, or a state

The い of 〜ている usually drops, leaving 〜てる.

The full 〜ている is still correct. The short form is simply what people say out loud.

Friends, family, people your own age. To a customer or a manager, 〜ています stays.

〜てる is not the past tense. The short form of 〜ていた is 〜てた.

Examples

〜でいる

〜でいる → 〜でる

an action in progress, after a voiced 〜で

Exactly the same drop as 〜てる, on verbs whose te-form ends in 〜で.

Which one you get is decided by the verb, not by you: 読んで gives 読んでる, 見て gives 見てる.

Casual, exactly like 〜てる. Politely it is 〜でいます.

This is not the same 〜で as 〜でしまう. Nothing here fuses; only い drops.

Examples

〜ていた

〜ていた → 〜てた

an action that was going on, or a state that held

The same い drops in the past: いた becomes た.

This is where 〜てる and 〜てた get mixed up. One letter carries the whole difference in time.

Casual. The polite past stays 〜ていました.

〜てた is past. If you mean right now, it is 〜てる.

Examples

〜でいた

〜でいた → 〜でた

an action that was going on, after a voiced 〜で

The い of 〜でいた drops the same way.

Same drop, same conditions — the verb decides whether you see 〜てた or 〜でた.

Casual. The polite past is 〜でいました.

〜でた is not a form of 〜でしまう. Nothing fuses here.

Examples

〜ています

〜ています → 〜てます

an action in progress, said politely but not stiffly

The same い drops even inside polite speech: います becomes ます.

This one matters because it shows that shortening is not the same as being casual. 〜てます is still polite — just relaxed.

Relaxed polite: colleagues, shop staff, people you already know at work.

Not for a first meeting, a formal email or a customer. There 〜ています stays whole.

Examples

〜ていない

〜ていない → 〜てない

something has not happened, or is not going on

The same い drops in the negative: いない becomes ない.

Very often this means “not yet”, not “not at all” — 食べてない is usually “I haven't eaten”.

Casual. Politely it is 〜ていません, or the relaxed 〜てません.

Do not read 〜てない as 〜なかった. It is a present state, not a past event.

Examples

〜ていません

〜ていません → 〜てません

something has not happened, said politely but not stiffly

The polite negative loses the same い: いません becomes ません.

Like 〜てます, this is shortened and still polite. The two axes are separate.

Relaxed polite, like 〜てます.

Not for formal writing. There the full 〜ていません is expected.

Examples

〜では

では → じゃ

the topic-marked では, in speech

では runs together into じゃ. Two syllables become one.

This single fusion explains a whole family: じゃない, じゃありません, じゃなかった, じゃあ.

Casual and relaxed polite alike. Formal writing keeps では.

Not every じゃ comes from では. The じゃ in 飲んじゃう comes from でしまう.

Examples

〜ではない

ではない → じゃない

negating a noun or a na-adjective

The same では fusion, in front of ない.

This is the everyday negative of だ. You will hear it far more often than ではない.

Casual. Polite is じゃありません or, more formally, ではありません.

With a rising tone じゃない？ means “isn't it?” — the opposite of a plain denial.

Examples

〜ではありません

ではありません → じゃありません

a polite denial, said without stiffness

The same では fusion inside the polite negative.

Shortened and still polite — the same two axes as 〜てます. Written documents keep ではありません.

Relaxed polite: shops, colleagues, everyday work talk.

This is not casual. Between friends it would be plain じゃない.

Examples

〜ではなかった

ではなかった → じゃなかった

a past denial of a noun or na-adjective

The same では fusion, this time in the past.

じゃない and じゃなかった differ by one syllable and by the whole tense. Worth hearing apart.

Casual. Politely it is じゃありませんでした.

Do not read じゃなかった as a softened present. It is past.

Examples

〜という

という → って

naming something, or introducing what was said

という shortens to って. It can also shorten only halfway, to っていう.

Half-shortened っていう keeps the verb visible and is easier to attach a noun to: 田中っていう人.

Casual and relaxed polite. A work email keeps という.

って has more than one job. Here it names something; at the end of a sentence it reports what someone said.

Examples

〜と

と（quoting）→ って

marking what someone said or thought

The quoting と becomes って in speech.

Only the quoting と changes. The と that means “and” or “if” stays as it is.

Casual. In writing and in polite speech と stays.

「パンと牛乳」 does not become 「パンって牛乳」. That と joins two nouns and never shortens.

Examples

〜のです

のです → んです

giving background, said politely

The same の becomes ん in front of です.

〜んです is what people actually say; the full 〜のです stays in writing and announcements.

Polite and completely ordinary — this is the default in a shop or an office.

〜んです is not more formal than 〜のです. It is the same politeness, spoken instead of written.

Examples

〜ので

ので → んで

giving a reason

The same の becomes ん, this time in front of で.

〜んで is relaxed. It is fine among colleagues and a little too loose for a customer.

Casual to relaxed polite. A written apology keeps ので.

Do not confuse this 〜んで with the 〜んで of 読んで. One is a reason, the other is a te-form.

Examples

〜もの

もの → もん

giving a reason with a hint of complaint or excuse

もの shortens to もん.

This one carries a tone: it pushes back a little. 知らないもん is “well, I didn't know”.

Casual, and it sounds young. Not to a manager or a customer.

Not every もの is this one. The もの meaning “thing” does not become もん here.

Examples

でしょう

でしょう → でしょ

checking that the listener agrees

The final long vowel is simply cut short.

でしょ？ asks for agreement and can sound pushy if you use it upwards.

Casual to relaxed polite. In a presentation, keep でしょう.

でしょ is not the same as だろ. でしょ keeps the polite です inside it.

Examples

〜なければ

なければ → なきゃ

the “unless” half of saying you have to do something

なければ contracts to なきゃ.

Almost always the tail (ならない, いけない) is dropped as well, so 〜なきゃ ends the sentence on its own.

Casual. Politely you keep 〜なければなりません.

なきゃ and なくちゃ mean the same thing. They come from different halves — なければ and なくては.

Examples

〜なくては

なくては → なくちゃ

the same obligation, coming from the other half

なくては contracts to なくちゃ — the same ては that gives ちゃ elsewhere.

なくちゃ sounds a shade softer and more spoken than なきゃ. Both are everyday.

Casual. Politely 〜なくてはいけません.

Not a different meaning from なきゃ. The two differ in feel, not in what they say.

Examples

〜なければならない

なければならない → なきゃ

an obligation stated in full, then cut down to nothing

First なければ contracts to なきゃ; then ならない falls away entirely.

What is left says “I have to” with no visible word for “have to”. That is the point of this level.

Casual. The full form belongs to notices and written rules.

The dropped ならない is still meant. 行かなきゃ is not a half-sentence, it is the whole thing.

Examples

〜なくてはいけない

なくてはいけない → なくちゃ

the same obligation from the other half, cut down the same way

なくては contracts to なくちゃ, then いけない falls away.

Halfway through you get なくちゃいけない, which is common on its own.

Casual. Politely 〜なくてはいけません.

なくちゃ is not weaker than なきゃ just because it is longer to say.

Examples

〜ないといけない

ないといけない → ないと

an obligation, with the “or else” part left unsaid

Nothing contracts. The いけない simply stops being said.

This is omission, not shortening: 〜ないと ends on a conditional that never gets its answer.

Casual, and very common in speech.

〜ないと on its own is not a conditional clause waiting for more. It is a finished sentence.

Examples

〜てはいけない

てはいけない → ちゃいけない

saying that something is not allowed

ては contracts to ちゃ. After a voiced 〜で it is じゃ instead.

This ちゃ is not the ちゃ of 〜ちゃう. Same two letters, different source.

Casual. Politely 〜てはいけません.

食べちゃいけない is “must not eat”; 食べちゃう is “end up eating”. The difference is the whole rest of the word.

Examples

〜てはだめ

てはだめ → ちゃだめ

a plain, direct “no”

The same ては contraction, in front of だめ.

〜ちゃだめ is what a parent says to a child, and what friends say to each other.

Casual and direct. To anyone above you it would be 〜てはいけません.

だめ here is not an adjective describing the thing. It applies to the action.

Examples

〜ではいけない

ではいけない → じゃいけない

the same prohibition after a voiced te-form

The 〜で of the te-form plus は fuses into じゃ.

Which one you get is decided by the verb: 飲んで gives 飲んじゃ, 食べて gives 食べちゃ.

Casual. Politely 〜ではいけません.

This じゃ is not the じゃ of 〜じゃない. That one comes from a noun plus では.

Examples

〜なくてもいい

なくてもいい → なくていい

saying that something is not necessary

Nothing contracts — the も simply drops out.

This is the opposite of 〜なきゃ, and it is the one learners reach for least often.

Casual. Politely 〜なくてもいいです.

Dropping も does not weaken the sentence. 〜なくていい still means “no need”.

Examples

〜らない

〜らない → 〜んない

a plain negative, said quickly

らない often becomes んない in relaxed speech.

A whole family runs on this: わかんない, つまんない, 終わんない, 変わんない.

Casual and a little loose. Not in writing, not at work.

It only works where らない is really there. 食べない has no ら and stays 食べない.

Examples

〜のではない

のではない → んじゃない

denying the explanation, not the fact

Two changes at once: の becomes ん, and では fuses into じゃ.

Neither half is new — you already know both. What is new is that they land in one word.

Casual. Politely 〜んじゃありません, or in writing 〜のではありません.

〜んじゃない denies the reason. 〜じゃない denies the noun. They are not interchangeable.

Examples

〜のではないか

のではないか → んじゃない？

a careful guess, offered rather than stated

The same two changes, and then the final か is usually replaced by a rising tone.

In writing this is a hedge. Out loud it is how you disagree without saying so.

Casual. Politely 〜んじゃないでしょうか.

This looks identical to the plain denial 〜んじゃない. Only the intonation separates them.

Examples

じゃない

じゃない → じゃん

checking agreement, not denying anything

The tag-question じゃない shortens to じゃん.

Only the tag question does this. The じゃない that denies something never becomes じゃん.

Casual and young-sounding. Not to a manager, not to a customer.

いいじゃん is “that's fine, isn't it” — a compliment. いいじゃない with a flat tone can be a refusal.

Examples

〜なければよかった

なければよかった → なきゃよかった

regret about something you did do

The same なければ contraction, with よかった left in place.

The trap is the tail: 〜なきゃ means “I have to”, 〜なきゃよかった means “I wish I hadn't”.

Casual. Politely 〜なければよかったです.

Opposite meanings, one syllable apart in the middle of the sentence. Listen for the ending.

Examples

〜ない

〜ない → 〜ねえ

an ordinary negative said roughly

ない is pronounced ねえ.

Nothing about the meaning changes. What changes is how you come across.

Blunt, and mostly male. Common in fiction and among close friends; out of place almost everywhere else.

Learn to hear this one, not to use it. It is here so 知らねえ does not stop you.

Examples

〜ではなくて

ではなくて → じゃなくて

correcting one thing into another

The same では fusion, this time in front of なくて.

This is the everyday way to correct someone: 明日じゃなくて明後日.

Casual to relaxed polite. Written notices keep ではなく.

じゃなくて joins two halves. じゃない ends the sentence. The て is doing real work.

Examples

〜ないでください

ないでください → ないで

asking someone not to do something

Nothing contracts — ください is simply not said.

Dropping ください drops the asking as well. What is left is closer to an instruction than a request.

Casual. To anyone you are not close to, keep ください.

This is not the 〜ないで that means “without doing”. 見ないで食べた is “ate without looking”.

Examples

Where this comes from

Everything above comes from the free part of the Kuzushi app and has passed its content review.

App Store →Free app with an in-app purchase

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