To in Japanese can be used in the four different ways, explained

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
  • Example #1: how to connect nouns in Japanese
• “To” to quote someone’s line
  • Example #2: how to quote someone’s line in Japanese
• “To” to say a result
  • Example #3: how to say the result of the change
  • Example #4: what happens when “to” connects two sentences
• “To” to express the person being together with the speaker
  • Example #5: how to say “with” in Japanese
• 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”.

Japanese people use this particle for polysyndeton. So they use “to” to connect as many nouns as they want like “A to B to C to D”. Let me explain how to use this particle through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to connect nouns in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• 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.

This is a typical usage of “to”. In this example, the three nouns are linked by the particles. Of course, however, even two nouns can be connected via the particle. As the translation shows, the role of this type of “to” is quite similar to that of “and” in English.

“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.

Japanese people use this particle to quote someone’s line mainly in formal situations. In more casual situations, they use another particle, “te”, instead. But their usages are basically the same. So, we can learn how to use “te” simultaneously through the following example sentence where “to” is used.

Example #2: how to quote someone’s line in Japanese

Below are the new words and particles used in the example sentence.

• 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’.

This is a typical usage of this type of “to”. In this example, the particle is put after the clause, “ashita wa ame da”, to express it is a quote. When we want to quote someone’s line in Japanese, we can use “to” like this.

“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.

Let me explain its usage in detail through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say the result of the change

Below are the new words and particle used in the example sentence.

• 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.

This is a typical usage of this type of “to”. In this example, this particle is put after the noun, “chuushi”, to express the result of the change. The Japanese idiomatic expression, “chuushi to naru”, literally means ‘to become a cancellation’, but can be interpreted as ‘to be canceled’ in English.

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

Below are the new words and particles used in the example sentence.

• 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.

The first “to” in this example is used to connect the two sentences: “ame ga furu” and “kaigi wa chuushi to naru”. So, it precedes the result. The result is described in the second sentence where the second “to” is used in the same way as in the last example.

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.

The usage of this “to” is quite similar to that of the English preposition, “with”. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “with” in Japanese

Below are the new words and particle used in the example sentence.

• 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.

This is a typical usage of this type of “to”. In this example, it is put after the pronoun, “kare”, to indicate the particular person being together with the speaker, “watashi”. In this regard, it is quite similar to the English preposition, “with”.

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”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.