How to tell them apart
ている describes an ongoing action or a state that resulted from something the subject itself did, like 佐々木さんは酒を飲んでいる or 林檎が腐っている. てある is used when someone performed a volitional action on an object and the result remains, as in 窓が開けてある. Swapping them is unnatural because てある requires a transitive verb and an intentional prior act, whereas ている does not.
- ている Use ている when describing an action in progress or a state resulting from the subject's own action.
- てある Use てある when someone intentionally did something to an object and the result still remains.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| ている teiru | Ongoing action or resulting state | N5 |
| てある tearu | Something is in a completed or done state | N4 |
ている teiru
Ongoing action or resulting state
ている expresses that an action is in progress, as in 食べている, or that the result of a change still remains, as in 開いている. It attaches to the te-form of a verb, and いる changes for politeness and tense, such as ています, ていた and ていなかった. With verbs like 知る, 持つ or 住む, it often describes a continuing state rather than a momentary action, so learners should learn the meaning verb by verb.
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とぼけないでくれよ、何の話かよくわかっているだろ。
Don't play dumb. You know very well what we're talking about.
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いくらお金をもっていますか。
How much money do you have?
てある tearu
Something is in a completed or done state
てある describes a thing left in a state after someone has acted on it on purpose, like a meal prepared in advance or a name written on a form. It follows the te-form of a transitive verb, as in 置いてある or 書いてあります, with the polite form using あります. It focuses on the visible result, not on who did the action, and it is different from ておく, which focuses on doing something in preparation.
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食事はオーブンのなかにおいてあります。
I have left you your dinner in the oven.
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車は用意してあります。
The car is ready.
ている and てある are JLPT N5–N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side on meanings, usage and example sentences, so you can tell them apart.