The Meaning of shimau [仕舞う] In Japanese

仕舞う
しまう
Romaji: shimau N5

What does 仕舞う mean?

Translation and Meaning

to put away, to store; to finish, to complete; to end up doing (something); to hide away

Definition

What does 仕舞う mean? It means to put away or store something, and more broadly to finish or complete an action, often with the sense that the task is concluded.

Type

verb (godan)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • Put away or store items, tidying or organizing them in their place
  • Finish or complete a task, action, or process
  • End up doing something or do something completely, with an emphasis on the outcome
  • In the てしまう construction, conveys completion with nuance of regret or unintended result

Composition

  • 仕: action, doing, or service; conveys the sense of performing or managing tasks
  • 舞: ‘dance’ glyph; in this compound it functions mainly as a phonetic/historic component rather than a literal semantic cue

Usage

Used across casual and formal registers. As a transitive verb, it commonly means to put away or store objects, or to finish or complete a task. In the てしまう construction it marks a completed action with nuance of regret or an unintended result; polite forms (しまいます) are used in formal contexts, while plain forms (しまう) are common in everyday speech.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: visualize a closet door sliding shut as you finish a task; the two-syllable SHI-MA-U echoes the motion of doing and putting away, helping recall the core meaning of finishing by storing.

Variations

  • 収納する (shūnō suru) — store, put away
  • しまっておく (shimatte oku) — leave something stored for later
  • 終える (oeru) — to finish, to complete (near synonym)

Example Phrases

  • 会議が終わったら、資料を机の引き出しに仕舞う。
    Kaigi ga owattara, shiryō o tsukue no hikidashi ni shimau.
    After the meeting, I’ll put away the documents in the desk drawer.
    Lista:
    • 会議が終わったら (kaigi ga owattara) – after the meeting
    • 資料を (shiryō o) – the documents
    • 机の (tsukue no) – desk’s
    • 引き出しに (hikidashi ni) – into the desk drawer
    • 仕舞う (shimau) – put away
    Here, 「仕舞う」 means ‘to put away’ and marks completing the action of storing the documents in the desk drawer.
仕舞う