Translation guide
How to express the idea of 'remaining' in Japanese, covering leftover items, remaining time, people staying behind, and states that continue.
There is still some cake left.
How much time is left?
Talking about things that are left over, such as food, money, or other countable/uncountable items.
The most common way to say something is remaining or left over. It is the te-iru form of 残る (to remain), indicating a resulting state.
There is still some milk left in the fridge.
I have a little money left.
Used when something is left over in excess, more than needed. Often implies surplus.
A noun meaning 'the remainder' or 'leftovers'. Often used with counters or in phrases like 残りわずか (only a little left).
Expressing how much time or distance is left until a deadline or destination.
A pattern meaning 'more to go' or 'left'. Place a time/distance expression after あと.
It will finish in 10 more minutes.
Describing people who remain in a place while others leave.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to stay behind' or 'to remain'. Use に残る for the place.
Expressing that a situation or state remains the same.
Attached to nouns, adjectives, or verbs in past/negative form to mean 'as it is' or 'still'. Indicates an unchanged state.
Talking about work, homework, or duties that are left undone.
Same as for items, but applied to tasks. Often used with 仕事 (work) or 宿題 (homework).
残る (のこる) simply means 'to remain' or 'be left'. 余る (あまる) implies there is more than needed, a surplus. Use 残る for neutral leftover, 余る for excess.
Money remained (just left over).
We have leftover ingredients, so let's make something.
残りは明日食べます。
I'll eat the leftovers tomorrow.
The remaining time is 5 minutes.
How much farther is it to the station?
Used as a noun before time/distance words, e.g., 残り時間 (remaining time), 残り距離 (remaining distance).
The remaining time is short.
I'll stay behind at the office and work.
Only he remained in the room.
Specifically means to stay behind (often after others have left), sometimes with a nuance of being kept back (e.g., detention).
The student was kept after school.
I fell asleep with the window open (remaining open).
Please leave it as it is.
Adverb meaning 'still' or 'not yet'. Used with positive or negative predicates to indicate a continuing state.
He is still young.
It is still raining.
There is still work left that I have to do.
Negative te-iru form of 済む (to be finished). Means 'not yet done' or 'remaining to be done'.
My homework isn't done yet.
お金が余った（使いきれなかった）。
Money was left over (couldn't spend it all).
While 残っている can be used for people staying behind, it can sound impersonal. For people, 残る or 居残る is more natural. Avoid 人が残っている for 'someone is left behind' in emotional contexts; use 取り残される (left behind) instead.
He stayed in the room alone.