N4 · Using the te-form
ておく: doing something in advance
the te-form with おく
ておく means doing something now so that it is ready later — or leaving something as it is.
置く means "to put" or "to place". After a te-form it means doing something and leaving the result in place for later: 旅行の前にホテルを予約しておきます, "I'll book a hotel before the trip". The point is the later need — the trip, the guests, the exam.
The second meaning is leaving something as it is: 窓は開けておいてください, "please leave the window open", or そのままにしておいて, "leave it as it is".
In conversation it contracts: ておく becomes とく and でおく becomes どく: 買っとく, "I'll get some in", 読んどく, "I'll read it beforehand".
English rarely marks this at all — at most "in advance" or "beforehand" — so learners leave it out. A Japanese host who says 部屋を掃除しておきました is telling you the room was cleaned for your visit, and a colleague who says 調べておきます is promising to have the answer ready next time. Compare てある, which describes the state afterwards; ておく is the action of the person preparing.
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending auxiliary verb
| buy → buy in advance | 買っておく |
| buy in advance, polite | 買っておきます |
| read → read beforehand | 読んでおく |
| prepare → prepare in advance | 準備しておく |
| open → leave it open, please | 開けておいてください |
| spoken: buy in advance | 買っとく |
| spoken: read beforehand | 読んどく |
The rules one by one
Te-form + おく means doing something now for a later need.
会議の前に資料を読んでおきます。I'll read the documents before the meeting.
It also means leaving something as it is.
エアコンはつけておいてください。Please leave the air conditioning on.
In speech ておく becomes とく, and でおく becomes どく.
明日の分も買っとくね。I'll get some for tomorrow too.
ておく is an action, so the thing acted on keeps を; てある describes the result, with が.
私がビールを冷やしておきました。I put some beer in the fridge to chill.
A closer look
ておく as thinking ahead for someone
Japanese uses ておく to show that something was done with somebody else's convenience in mind. To a customer, 調べておきます is "I'll look into it so it is ready for you"; to a guest, お茶を入れておきました is "I made some tea for when you arrived".
In requests, ておいてください asks somebody to have a thing done by a later point, which is why it comes so often with a deadline: 金曜日までに読んでおいてください, "please have it read by Friday". The plain 読んでください would ask for the reading, not for its being done in time.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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おく is the main verb, "to put"
it is written in kanji, 置く; as the helper after a te-form it is normally written in kana, and both can stand together: 置いておく.
鍵はここに置いておきますね。I'll leave the key here, OK?
The helper has lost the sense of physically putting something down. Writing it in kana shows that, as with いる, ある and しまう.
How to spot it
- ておく
- ておきます
- ておいて
- とく
- どく
- 〜前に
- 〜までに
Example sentences
旅行の前に、ホテルを予約しておきます。I'll book a hotel before the trip.
お客さんが来るので、部屋を掃除しておきました。Guests are coming, so I cleaned the room beforehand.
使ったら、元の場所に戻しておいてください。When you have used it, please put it back where it was.
試験までに、この単語を覚えておいてください。Please learn these words before the exam.
寒くなるから、毛布を出しておこう。It's going to get cold, so let's get the blankets out.
そのままにしておいてください。Please leave it as it is.
7 more example sentences
出かける前に、天気予報を見ておきます。I check the weather forecast before I go out.
会議の時間を課長に伝えておいてください。Please let the section manager know the meeting time.
飲み物は私が買っておきます。I'll get the drinks in.
パスポートのコピーを取っておいたほうがいいですよ。You'd better make a copy of your passport.
名前だけ書いておいて、続きは後で書きます。I'll put my name on it now and write the rest later.
この件は私が調べておきます。I'll look into this matter.
明日は早いから、もう寝とくね。I've got an early start tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now.
Worth knowing (1)
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The time words that come with it
ておく usually travels with a deadline or a later event: 〜前に, 〜までに, 今のうちに. If a sentence has one of these and somebody preparing for it, ておく is very likely what a Japanese speaker would say.
雨が降る前に、洗濯物を入れておこう。Let's bring the washing in before it rains.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
ておく is an action — somebody does it — so the thing acted on takes を. が goes with てある, which describes the result: ホテルが予約してあります.
ておく: do it now so that it is ready later, or leave it as it is.
Your turn
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