Structure
Verb[た](1) + まま
[い]Adjective + まま
[な]Adjective + な + まま
Noun + の + まま
(1) Verb[ない]
Details
Register
Standard
使用域
一般
Rare Kanji
儘・侭
About まま(に)
まま, coming from the kanji 儘, which means 'as it is', is a noun in Japanese that is used for describing the 'unchanged state' of something. This expression may be translated as 'while remaining (A)', 'as (A) is', or 'left in the state of (A)'. It can be used after any word in its attributive form. However, when used with verbs, it has a tendency to be used with the た (past) form most frequently.
まま often expresses that something should be left alone, or undisturbed. This is generally seen with verbs in the ない form.
Caution
While まま may be followed by the case marking particle に, it is very often omitted. When it appears, however, it will place extra emphasis on the next verb in the sentence.
-
エンジンを点けたままにしておいてください。Please keep your engine on.
-
扇風機を点けたままにして家を出る。I leave my house with my fan turned on. (Often)
Fun Fact
まま may sometimes be pronounced as まんま. However, this variation is primarily only used in casual speech, or writing that is being made to sound like casual speech.
-
これどこに片付ければいいかわからないからこのまんまでいい?I don’t know where to put this so is it okay if I just leave it here?
Synonyms
てある
Something is done, Has been done, Remaining state
Not studied yet
っぱなし
Leaving something in a certain state, Left as is, Keep on -ing
Not studied yet
きり
Only, Just, Since
Not studied yet
たなり・なり
While... ~ing, Remaining, Not or ever since, Keep or leave
Not studied yet
れる・られる + ままに
Do as (one is told or ordered…), In accordance with, In compliance with, Just like
Not studied yet
如く・如き・如し
Like, Similar to, As if, The same as
Not studied yet
Examples
昨日は窓を開けたまま寝た。
Last night I slept with the windows left open.
およそ千人が立ったままで講演を聞いた。
About 1000 people listened to the lecture while standing (the whole time).
生徒は答えられなくて、黙ったままでした。
The student couldn't answer and stayed quiet.
このまま行くと図書館が見えます。
If you stay on this course, you will be able to see the library.
ありのままの君が好きだ。
I like you, just as you are.
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
How to use ~まま
Maggie Sensei
Expressing lack of change
Tae Kim
Offline
Tobira
Page 285
Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai
Page 138
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 296
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 189
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
まま(に) – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (7 in total)
Eironeous
I personally don’t feel like it’s necessary, especially if the current translation carries over the intended meaning better. The literal translation in English makes the intended meaning sound a little more like a たら conditional, doesn’t it? What tripped me up was actually not seeing a まま + だと combination before, and the three grammar sources I used (Tae Kim, Maggie’s explanation and even Dictionary of Japanese Grammar) did not give a まま + だと example. And of course, since asking this question I’ve seen it pop up elsewhere, too.
If I voted for any change, it’d be to maybe add a note regarding what it is commonly combined with, such as で, に and だと. As in, add it as a comment in orange letters below, where it currently says [The state of something remains unchanged]. Again though, I didn’t think it too confusing, and when studying grammar such questions are inevitable anyway.
Thanks for the response!
Neko
I always confuse this with てある
do we use まま when there is already a sentence ending verb or are there more differences?Daru
One basic difference I can think of is that while both てある and まま mean that something was left in that state, the “something that must be left alone/undisturbed” nuance is unique to まま.
てある is just stating the fact.
Hope this helps!
Got questions about まま(に)? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion