Hi, everyone. |
Welcome to the Ultimate Japanese Particle Guide. |
In this lesson, you'll learn the particle... |
と (to) |
This particle is often referred to as the connecting particle, because we use it to connect two or more elements. |
と means “and.” |
You can use this particle to make a complete list of two or more nouns. It comes after every noun in the list except the last one. |
Let's illustrate it with some examples. How do you say "A and B"? |
AとB。 |
Here, the particle was inserted between the two, just like “and” in English. Now, how would we say “A , B, and C”? |
AとBとC。 |
Note that the particle was inserted between each word. Let’s keep going. |
How do you say “A, B, C, and D”? |
AとBとCとD。 |
So again, we put the particle between each word. This is different from English. |
In English, we put the word “and” only between the last two nouns, but in Japanese, と comes after every noun except the last one. So can we hear a sample sentence? |
ハンバーガーとポテトとコーラをください。(Hanbāgā to poteto to kōra o kudasai.) |
This means "Could I have a hamburger, French fries, and a Coke, please?" Let's hear the list again. |
ハンバーガーとポテトとコーラ (hanbāgā to poteto to kōra) |
We just learned that the particle comes after every noun in the list except the last one. |
Actually, in everyday life, many Japanese people omit it. It's very common to hear |
ハンバーガーとポテト、コーラ (hanbāgā to poteto, kōra) |
Let's take a look at a few more examples. |
肉と魚が好きです。(Niku to sakana ga suki desu.) |
“I like meat and fish.” |
ケーキとチョコレートを買いました。(Kēki to chokorēto o kaimashita.) |
"I bought a cake and chocolates." |
牛乳とチーズは乳製品です。 (Gyūnyū to chīzu wa nyūseihin desu.) |
“Milk and cheese are dairy products.” |
This particle also has the meaning of “together” or “with.” It's used to show involvement - that an action was done together with someone. |
Let's see some examples. |
ジョンはよう子と映画を見ました。(Jon wa Yōko to eiga o mimashita.) |
This means "John saw a movie with Yoko." Let's hear "with Yoko" again. |
よう子と (Yōko to) |
Let's take a look at a few more examples with the same particle when it means "with." |
明日、南さんとデートをします。(Ashita, Minami-san to dēto o shimasu.) |
"Tomorrow, I'll go on a date with Minami." |
南さんはいつも猫と遊んでいます。(Minami-san wa itsumo neko to asonde imasu.) |
"Minami is always playing with cats." |
田中さんと食事をしました。(Tanaka-san to shokuji o shimashita.) |
“I had a meal with Mr.Tanaka.” |
Now, let's use what you learned in this lesson. |
We learned how to say "Could I have a hamburger, French fries, and a Coke, please?" |
ハンバーガーとポテトとコーラをください。(Hanbāgā to poteto to kōra o kudasai.) |
Here the particle と (to) marks more elements to connect them. The structure is... |
[element 1] |
と(to) |
[element 2] |
と(to) |
[element 3] |
Now let's try with "I have a dog and a cat.” |
You should already know the words for "dog" and "cat.” |
犬 (inu) |
猫 (neko) |
"I have (a pet)” is... |
飼っています(katte imasu) |
Try to say ”I have a dog and a cat” in Japanese. [pause] |
The answer is... |
犬と猫を飼っています(Inu to neko o katte imasu) |
Did you get it right? In this sentence, the particle と(to) means "and." |
Let's try one more. We learned how to say "John saw a movie with Yoko." |
ジョンはよう子と映画を見ました。(Jon wa Yōko to eiga o mimashita.) |
Here the particle と (to) shows involvement - that the action was done together with someone. The structure is... |
[someone or something] |
と (to) |
Now let's try with "I go shopping with my friends." |
You should already know all the words... |
“to go shopping" is... |
買い物に行きます (kaimono ni ikimasu) |
"friend" is... |
友達 (tomodachi) |
Try to say "I go shopping with my friends" in Japanese. [pause] |
The answer is... |
友達と買い物に行きます。(Tomodachi to kaimono ni ikimasu. ) |
Well done! In this case, the particle と (to) means "with." |
In this lesson, you learned about the particle... |
と |
In the next lesson, you'll learn about the particle... |
か |
See you in the next lesson. Bye! |
Bye~ |
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