Grammar › Core Patterns
〜ておく — “do in advance, leave (something) as is”
Preparation for later: 飲み物を買っておく — buy drinks ahead of time
て-form + おく marks an action done in advance, in preparation for something later, or a deliberate choice to leave a situation as it is. In casual speech it contracts to とく: 買っておく → 買っとく.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| て-form + おく | 調べる → 調べておきます — I'll look it up (ahead of time) |
| Casual contraction: 〜とく | 買っておく → 買っとく — buy it now (for later) |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 会議の前に資料を準備しておきます。 | かいぎのまえにしりょうをじゅんびしておきます。 kaiginomaenishiryouwojunbishiteokimasu。 | I'll prepare the documents before the meeting. |
| 窓を開けておいてください。 | まどをあけておいてください。 madowoaketeoitekudasai。 | Please leave the window open. |
| ビールを冷やしておいたよ。 | びーるをひやしておいたよ。 bi-ruwohiyashiteoitayo。 | I chilled the beer ahead of time. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
ておく can mean either “do now so it's ready later” (準備しておく) or “leave a state unchanged” (開けておく) — the difference comes entirely from whether the verb describes a one-time action or a state.