まま / っぱなし / きり

JLPT N3 Japanese self-study　·　~15 min　·　Maintaining state · carelessly left · only / since that last time

'I got into the pool with my clothes on.' 'Left the TV on and fell asleep.' 'Just the two of us.' 'We haven't spoken since that day.' — three very Japanese ways to describe states.

What you'll learn

• まま = neutral state maintenance ('as is / without changing')
• っぱなし = carelessly left in a state (implies it should have been stopped)
• きり (limiting) = 'just / only / exclusively' (二人きり)
• きり (final) = 'since doing once, nothing more followed' (会ったきり)

How to study “まま / っぱなし / きり”

“まま / っぱなし / きり” (Maintaining state · carelessly left · only / since that last time) is a JLPT N3 chapter of our free Japanese self-study course, about 15 min. You learn by doing — flashcard drills and fill-in-the-blank quizzes graded on the spot — completely free, with no sign-up and no ad wall. Once it clicks, read the matching in-depth explainer over in Grammar.