> 王様のベッドで寝ちゃおっと

I've heard that this phrase is spoken in a child-like way. The full
translation is "let's sleep in the king's bed", and the portion that is child-
like would be 寝ちゃおっと (let's sleep). This 寝ちゃおっと cannot be translated very
easily so could someone explain the nuance of this phrase?
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2015-05-20T19:08:48.173
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2021-11-19T22:22:33.013
2021-11-19T22:22:33.013
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question
grammar nuances
「ちゃおっと」 Childish manner of speaking?
The phrase may be spoken in a child-like way and may have child-like
intentions, but I wouldn't call it child-like per se.

The basic form `〜しちゃう` (as opposed to `〜する`) simply connotes tentativeness or
disregard for consequences, similar to how you would say “go ahead and do”
instead of just “do”.

This can range from a subtle uncertainty (映画見ちゃう “I'll go ahead and watch a
movie”), to mischief (このクッキーとっちゃう “I'll go ahead and take this cookie”), to
full-blown recklessness (酔ってるけど運転しちゃう “I'm drunk but I'll go ahead and
drive”).

Changing the `〜しちゃう` to `〜しちゃおう` removes you one degree from the decision,
perhaps revealing your hope of diffusing responsibility for the action. This
is similar to how you would say “Let’s go ahead and…” instead of “I'll go
ahead and…”, when there is no **us** and you are the only one going ahead.

Bumping it up to `〜しちゃおうっと` or `〜しちゃおっと` shifts the nuance from subtle
uncertainty to more mischief/recklessness.

(Side note: Although `〜しちゃおう` is first-person plural and can be used to prod
both **me** and **us** , adding a `〜っと` at the end restricts the use to a
singular context. `〜しちゃおうっと` is never used to prod an actual group of people —
only **me**.)

So, if I were to offer a wordier translation just for the purpose of conveying
the statement's intent:

> 王様のベッドで寝ちゃおっと
>
> Why don't I go ahead and sleep in the king's bed
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2015-09-13T14:28:31.230
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2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer