When you want to express the idea of doing something in preparation for the future, Japanese uses the grammar pattern 〜ておく.
This is a very common structure in daily conversation, so let’s take a look at how it works.

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✅ Basic Meaning

The verb 〜ておく means “to do something in advance” or “to do something for future convenience.”
Think of it as doing an action now, so you don’t have trouble later.

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📝 Formation

Take the て-form of a verb + おく.

• 食たべる → 食たべておく (to eat in advance)
• 調しらべる → 調しらべておく (to check/look up in advance)
• 買かう → 買かっておく (to buy in advance)

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💡 Common Usage Examples

1. 旅行りょこうの前まえに切符きっぷを買かっておきます。
   → I’ll buy the ticket in advance before the trip.
2. パーティーのためにケーキを注文ちゅうもんしておきました。
   → I ordered a cake in advance for the party.
3. 質問しつもんがあれば、メモしておいてください。
   → If you have questions, please write them down in advance.

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🤔 Difference from Just 〜する

Without 〜ておく, you’re simply describing an action. With 〜ておく, you add the nuance that the action is done in advance, for later convenience.

• 本ほんを読よんだ。(I read a book.)
• 本ほんを読よんでおいた。(I read the book in advance [maybe for class tomorrow].)

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🙌 Tips for Remembering

• Think of 〜ておく as “prepare by doing.”
• You’ll often hear it in situations involving planning, preparing, or preventing problems.
• In casual speech, people sometimes shorten it to 〜とく.
  • Example: 切符買きっぷかっとくね。 → I’ll buy the ticket in advance, okay?

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✨ Quick Practice

How would you say in Japanese:

1. “I’ll make a reservation in advance.”
2. “Please save the file in advance.”
3. “I studied in advance for the test.”

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Using 〜ておく will make your Japanese sound more natural, especially when talking about plans and preparation. Try using it the next time you’re preparing for a trip, a meeting, or even just dinner!

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