How do Japanese people use “to”?
Japanese people use the particle, “to”, in the four different ways: connecting nouns, quoting someone’s line, saying the result of an action, and expressing the person being together with the speaker. They use this particle quite often. Naturally, it is very important for Japanese learners. In this blog post, therefore, I will explain this particle in detail and also how to use it through example sentences. Let’s get started!Contents
- “To” to connect nouns
- “To” to quote someone’s line
- “To” to say a result
- “To” to express the person being together with the speaker
- Summary: “to” in Japanese
“To” to connect nouns
First of all, let me explain how to use “to” to connects nouns in Japanese.- to – と : a parallel particle put after a noun to connect it to the next one. It is quite similar to the English word, “and”.
Example #1: how to connect nouns in Japanese
watashi wa ringo to momo to nashi ga suki – 私は林檎と桃と梨が好き (わたしはりんごとももとなしがすき)
I like apples and peaches and pears.
I like apples and peaches and pears.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
- ringo – 林檎 (りんご) : a noun meaning ‘apple’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘apples’. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- momo – 桃 (もも) : a noun meaning ‘peach’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘peaches’.
- nashi – 梨 (なし) : a noun meaning ‘pear’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘pears’.
- ga – が : a case particle put after a noun to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “ringo to momo to nashi”, to make the object word in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Yet, “suki” is often used like one word to say ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese.
“To” to quote someone’s line
Next, then, let me explain how to quote someone’s line in Japanese.- to – と : a case particle put after a clause or sentence to express it is a quote.
Example #2: how to quote someone’s line in Japanese
kanojo wa ashita wa ame da to it ta – 彼女は明日は雨だと言った (かのじょはあしたはあめだといった)
She told me that it would rain tomorrow.
She told me that it would rain tomorrow.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, the first “wa” is put after the pronoun, “kajono”, to make the subject word in the sentence. The second one is put after the noun, “ashita”, to make the subject word in the quoted clause.
- ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. It is a noun, but can also be used like an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to say “tomorrow”.
- ame – 雨 (あめ) : a noun meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese.
- da – だ : an auxiliary verb put after a noun to make a declarative sentence. In the quoted clause, it is put after the noun, “ame”, to make the declarative sentence.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’ or ‘to tell’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb, adjective, auxiliary verb, or phrase to make its past tense. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “it”, to make its past tense, “it ta”, which means ‘to have told’.
“To” to say a result
Then, let me explain the next “to”.- to – と : a case particle put after a noun or noun phrase to indicate the result of an action or change.
Example #3: how to say the result of the change
kyou no kaigi wa chuushi to nat ta – 今日の会議は中止となった (きょうのかいぎはちゅうしとなった)
Today’s meeting has been cancelled.
Today’s meeting has been cancelled.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle put after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, it is put after the noun, “kyou”, to make its possessive case, “kyou no”, which means ‘today’s’ in Japanese.
- kaigi – 会議 (かいぎ) : a noun meaning ‘meeting’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last examples. In this example, it is put after the noun phrase, “kyou no kaigi”, to make the subject in the sentence.
- chuushi – 中止 (ちゅうし) : a noun meaning ‘cancelation’, ‘suspension’, ‘stoppage’, or such in Japanese.
- nat – なっ : one conjugation of the verb, “naru”, which means ‘to become’, ‘to get’, ‘to turn’, ‘to grow’, or such in Japanese.
In this example, “to” is put after the noun phrase to express the result of the change. When “to” is put after a clause or sentence, not a noun or noun phrase, however, the result of a change or action comes after the particle. We need to be careful with this point. Let me explain what will happen when “to” connects two sentences, through the example sentence below.
Example #4: what happens when “to” connects two sentences
ame ga furu to kaigi wa chuushi to naru – 雨が降ると会議は中止となる (あめがふるとかいぎはちゅうしとなる)
If it rains, the meeting will be cancelled.
If it rains, the meeting will be cancelled.
- ga – が : the same as explained in the first example. In this example, it is put after the noun, “ame”, to make the subject word in the first sentence.
- furu – 降る (ふる) : a verb meaning ‘to fall’ in Japanese. “Ame ga furu” is a widely-used expression meaning ‘rain falls’ in Japanese, but often translated into English as ‘it rains’.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last examples. In this example, it is put after the noun, “kaigi”, to make the subject word in the second clause.
- naru – なる : a verb meaning ‘to become’, ‘to get’, ‘to turn’, ‘to grow’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, the first “to” in this example is a conjunctive particle. But, its usage is more important than its definition.
“To” to express the person being together with the speaker
Lastly, let me explain how to express the person being together with the speaker or someone else.- to – と : a case particle put after a noun to express the person being together with the speaker or someone else.
Example #5: how to say “with” in Japanese
watashi wa kare to umi ni iku – 私は彼と海に行く (わたしはかれとうみにいく)
I will go to the sea with him.
I will go to the sea with him.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last examples. In this example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘(the) sea’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle put after a noun to indicate a particular place to which someone or something goes. In the example, it is put after the noun, “umi”, to indicate the particular place to which “watashi” will go with “kare”.
- iku – 行く (いく) : a verb meaning ‘to go’ in Japanese.
I’ve explained that this type of “to” can be used to express the person being together with the speaker or someone else. But, it can also be used for inanimate things. In other words, it can also be used to express the thing being together with the speaker or someone else.
Summary: “to” in Japanese
In this blog post, I’ve explained how to use “to” in the four different ways – more precisely the five ways. Let me summarize them as follows.- to – と : a parallel particle put after a noun to connect it to the next one. It is quite similar to the English word, “and”. We can use it for polysyndeton like “A to B to C to D”.
- to – と : a case particle put after a clause or sentence to express it is a quote.
- to – と : a case particle put after a noun or noun phrase to indicate the result of an action or change.
- to – と : a conjunctive particle put after a sentence or clause to precede the result of an action or change.
- to – と : a case particle put after a noun to express the person being together with the speaker or someone else. It can also be used for inanimate things. The usages of this particle is quite similar to those of the English preposition, “with”.
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