~てしまう

[DWolfs]

Hi, I'm going over the grammar book of 日本語総まとめN3 to ensure I have my basics down until I came across this sentence:


試験が終った！今日は飲んじゃおう。
Oh, the exam is over! I am going to have a drink!

I don't quite understand why ~てしまう is used here, since it doesn't seem to express regret, criticism or completion. Sorry about the lack of context.

 

[nekojita]

It's not just ~てしまう but ~てしまう in volitional form. So it expresses the will of the speaker to do something completely/thoroughly.

 

[DWolfs]

Could you interpret the example sentence as "I'm going to get so drunk today!" then?

 

[Toritoribe]

～てしまう has a nuance that the speaker thinks it's a sort of bad thing.

 

[DWolfs]

So it's more like: "I know I shouldn't, but I'm going driking today!"

Thank you for your time.

 

[Toritoribe]

It's not so strong like "I know I shouldn't", but is more close to "to allow myself to do".

 

[DWolfs]

Ooh, I see I see! I've heard ~てしまう a couple of times already in this kind of context, and it finally makes sense now. Thanks, Toritoribe!