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The particle to in Japanese

In a nutshell

  • Writing: と
  • Exhaustive listing: “and”, connects nouns without omitting anything
  • Accompaniment: “with”, for an action done in the company of someone
  • Comparison: と同じ (to onaji, “same as”), と違う (to chigau, “different from”)
  • Reported speech: と言う (to iu), と思う (to omou)

The particle と links two elements in various contexts: listing nouns, indicating company, comparing two things or reporting speech. Unlike other listing particles, と can only connect nouns, never verbs, adjectives or complete clauses.

An exhaustive listing

と connects two or more nouns to form a complete list, with no omitted elements. It is most often translated as “and”.

Japanese Romaji Translation
Neko to inu. A cat and a dog.
Chichi to haha to ani. My father, mother and brother.
Ocha to koohii ga suki desu. I like tea and coffee (and nothing else).

This exhaustive nature distinguishes と from や (ya), which lists a non-exhaustive list suggesting other unmentioned items, and from とか (toka), the most common spoken variant for informal listing. 鉛筆や皿 (enpitsu ya sara) implies there is something else besides the pencil and the plate, while 鉛筆と皿 (enpitsu to sara) means there are only these two items.

Accompanying someone

と also indicates the person or entity with whom an action takes place, in the sense of “with”.

Japanese Romaji Translation
Tomodachi to eiga wo mimasu. I watch a movie with a friend.
Sensei to hanashita. I talked with the teacher.
Nikorasu to eigakan ni ikimasu. I go to the cinema with Nicolas.

This accompaniment meaning applies only to actions shared between multiple participants, unlike the particle に (ni), which marks a destination or place of existence without the notion of company.

Expressing a comparison

と also appears in comparison expressions, notably with 同じ (onaji, “same”) and 違う (chigau, “different”).

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Japanese Romaji Translation
Kore wa watashi no to onaji desu. It is the same as mine.
Sensei no iken to chigau. It is different from the teacher’s opinion.

In this construction, と introduces the second term of the comparison, the one to which the main element is compared.

Reporting a statement or a thought

と precedes verbs that introduce a quote, reported speech or a thought, notably 言う (iu, “say”) and 思う (omou, “think”).

Japanese Romaji Translation
Kare wa ashita kuru to itta. He said he would come tomorrow.
Muzukashii to omoimasu. I think it is difficult.

The verb placed before と remains in the plain form (dictionary form), regardless of the politeness of the overall sentence. It is this construction that allows, for example, introducing a full indirect speech in Japanese.

The conditional with to

Finally, と can link two clauses to express a near-systematic cause-and-effect relationship, similar to “when” or “if”. This usage differs from listing and accompaniment: と then follows a verb in the plain form rather than a noun.

Japanese Romaji Translation
Koko wo massugu iku to, eki ga arimasu. When you go straight from here, there is the station.

This construction is suitable for general truths or automatic consequences, rather than for one-off or uncertain events.

The particle と often combines with は in a sentence, the group formed by と then becoming the topic introduced by wa: 田中さんと山本さんは日本人です (Tanaka-san to Yamamoto-san wa nihonjin desu), “Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Yamamoto are Japanese.” The full use of this topic particle is detailed in the article about the particle wa in Japanese.

Practice exercise

Test your understanding of the different uses of the particle to.

Question 1: What does 猫と犬 mean?




と connects two nouns in an exhaustive listing, translated as “and”.

Question 2: What is the difference between と and や in a listing?




と lists a complete list, omitting nothing, while や implies that there are other unmentioned items.

Question 3: In 友達と映画を見ます, what role does と play?




と indicates accompaniment here: the action of watching a movie is done with a friend.

Question 4: Which verb is typically used after と to report a thought?




思う (omou, “think”) is commonly used after と to report a thought, as in 難しいと思います.

Question 5: In which form is the verb placed just before と in reported speech?




The verb before と stays in the plain form, regardless of the politeness of the rest of the sentence.

Question 6: What type of consequence does the construction verb + と best express?




The verb + と construction is suitable for general truths or near-systematic consequences, as in giving directions.


Your score

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