～まま(に) — Just As It Is
Indicates that a state stays unchanged while another action occurs, or that one acts exactly according to something (as one is told, as one feels, as it flows). The core image is 'leaving something in a certain state and doing the next thing without changing it'.
Structure
[Verb た-form / ない-form] + まま; [Noun] + の + まま; [な-adj] + な + まま; [い-adj] + まま
Examples
靴を履いたまま部屋に入らないでください。
Kutsu wo haita mama heya ni hairanaide kudasai.
Please don't enter the room with your shoes still on.
履いた + まま = the state of 'having put shoes on' remains unchanged
彼は言われるままに書類にサインした。
Kare wa iwareru mama ni shorui ni sain shita.
He signed the documents just as he was told.
言われる + ままに = doing exactly according to what was said
昔のままの町並みが残っている。
Mukashi no mama no machinami ga nokotte iru.
The streetscape remains just as it was long ago.
昔 + の + まま = a noun kept in its original state
• Verb before まま is usually た-form (an unchanged resulting state) or ない-form. • まま(に) with 言われる/思う means 'according to / at the mercy of'. • Contrast with intended change: つけたまま (left on) vs つけて (turned on and…).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～まま(に) is tested against.
vs ながら
まま means one state is left unchanged while acting; ながら means two actions happen simultaneously (both ongoing).
vs きり
～きり emphasizes 'and that was the last time / nothing since', while まま simply describes a state left as-is.
More expressions
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