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文法ぶんぽうGrammar Point

〜ている ongoing action / state: Meaning & Examples

te iru · JLPT N5

JLPT N545 textsQuiz readyStudy card

〜ている means “ongoing action / state”. It is a JLPT N5 pattern: below are its construction, the nuances that trip learners up, and the sentences where real Japanese writers use it.

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一枚いちまいStudy card

A free one-page study card for 〜ている (ongoing action / state), JLPT N5: what it means, how it attaches, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuances that trip learners up. Read it right here, or take the PDF or PNG with you. We never ask for an email for this card.

The 〜ている study card: one A4 page holding the pattern, its JLPT N5 meaning, the construction rules, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuance notes.
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How 〜ている works

It is formed with a verb’s て-form plus いる, and covers both the English "-ing" progressive and many "is/has" state descriptions. Which reading you get depends on the verb: duration verbs like 食べる or 読む give the progressive sense, while change-of-state verbs like 結婚する or 開く describe the state after the change.

構文こうぶんConstruction

  • Verb (て-form) + いる

    本を読んでいる。 — I’m reading a book.

  • Verb (て-form) + います (polite)

    今、雨が降っています。 — It’s raining right now.

  • Change-of-state verb (て-form) + いる → resulting state

    姉は結婚している。 — My older sister is married.

  • Verb (て-form) + いない (negative: "hasn’t / isn’t")

    まだ昼ご飯を食べていない。 — I haven’t eaten lunch yet.

例文れいぶんIn a sentence

My little sister is listening to music in her room right now.
My father has been working at a bank in Tokyo this whole time.
I suddenly notice the front door is standing open.

注意点ちゅういてんNuances

  • Keep the full form in essays and formal writing.
  • With instantaneous change-of-state verbs (結婚する, 知る, 死ぬ, 開く), 〜ている is the current state, not an ongoing action: 知っている = "I know", not "I am getting to know".
  • 〜ている also covers habits and routines: 毎朝走っている can mean "I run every morning", much like English "I’ve been running every morning".
  • For "haven’t done it yet", use まだ〜ていない. まだしなかった is a classic learner mistake — the plain past negative implies the chance has already passed.
How 〜ている differs from similar patterns
  • 〜ていた — 〜ていた is simply the past of 〜ている — an action that was in progress, or a state that held, at some past moment.
  • 〜てある — 〜てある also describes a resulting state, but implies someone deliberately did the action: 窓まどが開ひらいている just says the window is open; 窓まどが開あけてある suggests somebody opened it on purpose.

練習れんしゅうYour Turn

Tip

Describe what three people around you (real or imagined) are doing right now, then add one thing you still haven’t done today using まだ〜ていない.

〜ている (ongoing action / state) in real sentences

Each one is quoted from a published Japanese text in this library and links to the story it came from. Some use older spellings, or break off where the sentence carried on. They are transcribed exactly as their authors wrote them.

— from The Fainting Doll (N3)

— from Two Frogs (N3)

— from The Look-Alike (N3)

— from The Snail's Song (N3)

確認かくにんSelf-check

Practise 〜ている: fill in the blank

3 sentences taken from real Japanese texts, with the grammar removed. Pick what belongs in the gap.

Question 1 of 3

  1. どこをみつめblankかわからないまま

    Answer: ている — from The Smile (N1)

  2. まくらをならべblank正ちゃん

    Answer: ている — from The Cat and the Sweet Red Bean Soup (N3)

  3. 回転しblank調帯の幻影

    Answer: ている — from The Buzzing Belt (N2)

Read the texts these came from

Appears in 45 of 367 texts in our library.

蔵書ぞうしょThe texts

45 texts in the library use 〜ている

Free to read in full. Furigana over every kanji, a dictionary on any word you tap, and an English breakdown of each sentence.

飴だま cover Read 飴だま The Candy Drop 新美 南吉 9 min read · Short Story うちの ねこ cover Read うちの ねこ Our Cat's Secret Yomimaru 1 min read · Short Story しゃしんやさん cover Read しゃしんやさん The Photographer 小川 未明 7 min read · Short Story おやすみ、おつきさま cover Read おやすみ、おつきさま Goodnight, Moon Yomimaru 1 min read · Short Story こうえんの いぬ cover Read こうえんの いぬ The Dog at the Park Yomimaru 1 min read · Short Story ツイテ　イツタ　テフテフ cover Read ツイテ　イツタ　テフテフ The Butterfly That Followed 新美 南吉 8 min read · Short Story キューピー cover Read キューピー Kewpie 夢野 久作 7 min read · Short Story ひよりげた cover Read ひよりげた The Straw Sandals 新美 南吉 20 min read · Short Story オマツリ cover Read オマツリ The Festival 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story ミチコサン cover Read ミチコサン Michiko-san 新美 南吉 7 min read · Short Story ザウサン　サルサン cover Read ザウサン　サルサン Zausan and Sarusan 村山 籌子 3 min read · Short Story からすねこと　ペルシャねこ cover Read からすねこと　ペルシャねこ The Crow Cat and the Persian Cat 小川 未明 5 min read · Short Story
Show the other 33 texts
にはとり　は　みんな　しあわせ cover Read にはとり　は　みんな　しあわせ All the Chickens Are Happy 村山 籌子 14 min read · Short Story どろぼう猫 cover Read どろぼう猫 The Thief Cat 夢野 久作 13 min read · Short Story ジェミイの冐険 cover Read ジェミイの冐険 Jemmy's Adventure 片山 広子 33 min read · Short Story 賢い秀雄さんの話 cover Read 賢い秀雄さんの話 The Story of Clever Hideo 宮原 晃一郎 21 min read · Short Story 狐に化された話 cover Read 狐に化された話 The Story of Being Tricked by a Fox 土田 耕平 22 min read · Short Story 沼辺より cover Read 沼辺より From the Marsh 牧野 信一 99 min read · Short Story 調帯 cover Read 調帯 The Buzzing Belt 野村 吉哉 2 min read · Short Story ゐろりの中の街 cover Read ゐろりの中の街 The City in the Hearth スティーブンソン ロバート・ルイス 2 min read · Short Story ヌスビトト　コヒツヂ cover Read ヌスビトト　コヒツヂ The Thief and the Lamb 新美 南吉 6 min read · Short Story みみず先生の歌 cover Read みみず先生の歌 The Earthworm Teacher's Song 村山 籌子 12 min read · Short Story 雪子さんの泥棒よけ cover Read 雪子さんの泥棒よけ Yukiko's Burglar Foil 夢野 久作 8 min read · Short Story 気絶人形 cover Read 気絶人形 The Fainting Doll 原 民喜 9 min read · Short Story オホサウヂ cover Read オホサウヂ The Big Cleaning 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story ヒント cover Read ヒント Hint 織田 作之助 4 min read · Short Story 似たひと cover Read 似たひと The Look-Alike 宮本 百合子 3 min read · Article ライオンの大損 cover Read ライオンの大損 The Lion's Big Loss 村山 籌子 9 min read · Short Story ペンギン鳥の歌 cover Read ペンギン鳥の歌 The Penguin Bird's Song 原 民喜 7 min read · Short Story ねことおしるこ cover Read ねことおしるこ The Cat and the Sweet Red Bean Soup 小川 未明 14 min read · Short Story お鍋とお皿とカーテン cover Read お鍋とお皿とカーテン The Pot, the Plate, and the Curtain 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story 質屋の通帳 cover Read 質屋の通帳 The Pawnshop Passbook 薄田 泣菫 15 min read · Short Story こがらしの　ふく　ばん cover Read こがらしの　ふく　ばん The Night the Cold Wind Blows 小川 未明 5 min read · Short Story 片目のごあいさつ cover Read 片目のごあいさつ The One-Eyed Greeting 小川 未明 12 min read · Short Story 虹猫の話 cover Read 虹猫の話 The Story of the Rainbow Cat 宮原 晃一郎 37 min read · Short Story オヤカン　ト　オナベ　ト　フライパン　ノ　ケンクワ cover Read オヤカン　ト　オナベ　ト　フライパン　ノ　ケンクワ The Quarrel of the Pot, the Pan, and the Frying Pan 村山 籌子 2 min read · Short Story 髪床やの大根さん cover Read 髪床やの大根さん Mr. Daikon's Barber Shop 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story 泣いてゐるお猫さん cover Read 泣いてゐるお猫さん The Crying Cat 村山 籌子 10 min read · Short Story 二ひきの蛙 cover Read 二ひきの蛙 Two Frogs 新美 南吉 9 min read · Short Story カタツムリノ　ウタ cover Read カタツムリノ　ウタ The Snail's Song 新美 南吉 3 min read · Short Story ぼろぼろな駝鳥 cover Read ぼろぼろな駝鳥 The Tattered Ostrich 高村 光太郎 2 min read · Short Story 夏と人形 cover Read 夏と人形 Summer and the Doll 坂口 安吾 2 min read · Short Story 微笑 cover Read 微笑 The Smile 夢野 久作 5 min read · Short Story 五本の指 cover Read 五本の指 Five Fingers ベルトラン ルイ 3 min read · Short Story 暗い花 cover Read 暗い花 Dark Flower 林 芙美子 85 min read · Short Story

解説かいせつBackground

Where this 〜ている explanation comes from

〜ている sits at JLPT N5 in the 302-point taxonomy every text in this library is tagged against. Each text is read for the patterns it contains, which is what lets this page list every text that uses 〜ている and pull its example sentences out of them.

The example sentences were not written to demonstrate the rule. They are quoted from published Japanese texts in this library (The Fainting Doll and Two Frogs among them), and each one links back to the story it came from, so you can read the sentence where it actually happened.

質問しつもんQuestions

〜ている: questions & answers

What is the difference between 〜ている and 〜てる?

〜てる is the contracted casual form — the い simply drops in speech: 食べている → 食べてる, and politely 食べています → 食べてます. It is perfectly natural in conversation and texting, but stick to the full 〜ている in formal writing.

Why does 結婚している mean "is married" and not "is getting married"?

Verbs like 結婚する, 知る, and 死ぬ describe a change that happens in an instant, so 〜ている expresses the state after that change. To talk about the event itself you say 結婚する (will marry) or 結婚した (got married).

How do I say "I haven’t done it yet" in Japanese?

Use まだ〜ていない: まだ宿題をしていない means "I haven’t done my homework yet." まだしなかった sounds off because the plain past negative frames the timeframe as finished. This pattern appears constantly in native text, so a little reading practice on Yomimaru makes it automatic fast.

Is there a printable 〜ている cheat sheet?

Yes. A free one-page 〜ている (ongoing action / state) study card sits at the top of this page, as both a PDF and a PNG. It carries the JLPT N5 meaning, how the pattern attaches, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuances learners get wrong. You do not need an account or an email address to download it.

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