Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 6: 8/13

と

Quotation

Structure

(Quotation) Phrase + と + Verb(*)

Verb + と + Verb(*)
［い］Adjective + と + Verb(*)
［な］Adjective + (だ) + と + Verb(*)
Noun + (だ) + と + Verb(*)

(*) Verbs like 言(い)う、聞(き)く、思(おも)う、考(かんが)える、仮定(かてい)する and the like are used

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Particle

  • Word Type

    Case Marking Particle

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    助詞

  • 単語の種類

    格助詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About と

One of the regular functions of と in Japanese is as a quotation particle. This use is called 引用(いんよう) in Japanese, which basically translates as 'reference', or 'citation'. This way of using と can appear after almost any type of word (or phrase), but requires だ when used after nouns or な-Adjectives.
  • 先生(せんせい)が「危(あぶ)ない！」と叫(さけ)んだ。
    The teacher yelled, 'Watch out!'
  • 木村(きむら)さんが「3キロ歩(ある)いた」と言(い)った。
    Kimura san said, 'I walked 3 km.'
  • あれは猫(ねこ)だと思(おも)う。
    I think that is a cat.
  • 富士山(ふじさん)は綺麗(きれい)だと思(おも)う？
    Do you think that Mt. Fuji is beautiful?
と as a quotation marker will almost always be followed by a verb that shows what type of 'quote' it is. This can be words like 言(い)う, 思(おも)う, 考(かんが)える, 聞(き)く, etc. However, at the end of a sentence, the verb will often be omitted.
  • 生徒(せいと)が先生(せんせい)に「何(なん)で？」と。
    The students asked the teacher, 'Why?'
As with other instances of the particle と being used, this use simply expresses the relationship between (A) 'what was communicated', and (B) 'how it was communicated'.

Examples

  • 彼(かれ)はとても親切(しんせつ)だと聞(き)きました。

    I heard that he is very friendly.

  • メモに「私(わたし)は今(いま)から学校(がっこう)に行(い)きます」と書(か)いた。

    I wrote, 'I am going to school now' on a note.

  • 「彼(かれ)はここに来(き)ますか」と聞(き)いた。

    I asked, 'Is he coming here?'

  • 「晩(ばん)ごはんを作(つく)った」と言(い)った。

    I said, 'I made dinner'.

  • 「重(おも)いですか」と聞(き)きました。

    He asked, 'Is it heavy?'

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と – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (23 in total)

  • MikkaT

    MikkaT

    About 3 months ago

    But what about the question mark on the second one?
    The translation in the example is:

    Do you think that Mt. Fuji is beautiful?

    I still don’t understand that one.

  • IcyIceBear

    IcyIceBear

    About 3 months ago

    Oop sorry I just woke up didn’t see the ? (⁠´⁠(⁠ｪ⁠)⁠｀⁠）

    In that case I would say

    Do you think that Mt. Fuji is beautiful? (This that is a quotation helper too isn’t it? )

    Do you think “Mt. Fuji is beautiful”?
    “Mt. Fuji is beautiful” you think?
    (Obviously in normal translations I wouldn’t write it this way, but to help you understand)

    Again と is just quoting thoughts here. You understand the questions just fine✨ Just know that , と comes before おもう a majority the time. For me, I didn’t think about how the とwould make sense in English, just that I needed it before using おもう to make sense in Japanese. がんばって it’ll get easier as you learn more and grow

  • MikkaT

    MikkaT

    About 3 months ago

    ありがとう I hope it will and it is good to know that it is common with おもう

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