How to say “and” in Japanese: と (to), や (ya), and other parallel markers

The particle と (transcribed to) means “and” in a context where you’re listing the full list of things that are relevant, rather than just giving some examples. Let’s see some examples.

In a sentence, と (transcribed to) will be placed between every linked pair of nouns in a sentence, and sometimes after the last noun as well as in:

Remember that, though you can make an English list using the word “and” only once in a list, this is not allowed in Japanese!

The particle や (transcribed ya) means “and,” in a context where you’re listing two or more nouns as examples. In other words, や creates a partial list as in “X, Y, and others” and “things like X and Y.”

Here are some examples of when you might use this parallel marker in Japanese. Compare the meanings here to the ones in the previous section!

The particle や (transcribed ya) is generally used between every pair of elements it links, but unlike と (transcribed to) it never appears at the end:

In long lists, you can sometimes use a comma instead of one of the instances of や (transcribed ya). However, this doesn’t follow the English pattern! In Japanese we keep the first や and omit the later ones.

The parallel particle か (transcribed ka) means “or” in a context where you are listing all the options and only one can be chosen, much like “(either) X or Y” in English.

When linking nouns, か (transcribed ka) will fall between each pair of items in the list, and can optionally come at the end of the list as well.

The particle に (transcribed ni) has a wide range of functions in Japanese, but as a parallel marker, it is used to discuss combinations. There are two main situations where you might use this as your parallel marker:

• You are listing things being added to each other, much like you might use “plus…” or “and then…” in English.

  カレーライスの材料？えーっと、玉ねぎに人参にじゃがいもに・・・肉にりんごに・・・、あ、カレールー。

  Transcription: Karēraisu no zairyō? Ētto, tamanegi ni ninjin ni jagaimo ni… niku ni ringo ni… a, karērū.

  Translation: Ingredients for curry and rice? Let’s see, onions and carrots and potatoes and…meat and apples and…oh, the curry mix.

  Though the distinction between に (transcribed ni) and と (transcribed to) is a little hard to capture in English, using に (transcribed ni) sounds more like the items you’re listing are being combined together, rather than simply being listed. Think of using に (transcribed ni) as adding items into an imaginary pot!

• You are discussing items that are typically combined with each other. These are items that are typically seen as a pair or a set.

  お弁当にお茶はいかがですか。

  Transcription: Obentō ni ocha wa ikaga desu ka.

  Translation: How about a box lunch and green tea?

  朝はいつもご飯にみそ汁だ。

  Transcription: Asa wa itsumo gohan ni misoshiru da.

  Translation: I always eat cooked rice and miso soup in the morning.

  ハンバーガーにフライドポテトを注文した。

  Transcription: Hanbāgā ni furaidopoteto o chūmon shita.

  Translation: I ordered a burger and French fries.

  All of the combinations above will sound, to a Japanese speaker, like “typical” combinations, sort of like how an American might think of “peanut butter and jelly,” “bacon and eggs,” or “milk and cookies.”

Like と (transcribed to), the parallel marker に (transcribed ni) only connects nouns or noun phrases. But unlike と (transcribed to), it never appears after the last noun:

When you use に (transcribed ni), much like using “and” in English, you do not necessarily need to give an exhaustive list of all the “parts” of something.

Like や (transcribed ya), the particle とか (transcribed toka) is used to list a few items as examples. However, とか (transcribed toka) is more casual than や (transcribed ya).

As you can see from the examples above, とか (transcribed toka) tends to follow two different patterns:

Unlike や (transcribed ya), which we can use only with nouns or noun phrases, we can use とか (transcribed toka) for other elements such as verbs, adjectives, and sentences.