Grammar Info
N5 Lesson 9: 13/13

Things like, And the like

Cannot be used after verbs, unlike とか

Structure
Noun + + Noun
Details
Part of Speech Particle
Word Type Sentence Ending Particle
Register Standard
品詞 助詞
単語の種類 終助詞
使用域 一般
Information
is a particle that has several different roles in Japanese, with the most common being as a 副助詞(ふくじょし) (adverbial particle). is used similarly to as ‘and’, but rather than listing specific things in a group, it lists ‘things like (A)’.
is always used to group nouns, and simply comes directly after them.
  • このスーパー果物(くだもの)弁当(べんとう)がある
    This super market has things like fruit and bento’s.
  • 飛行機(ひこうき)船(ふね)大(おお)きです
    Things like planes and ships are big.
To compare how and are different, imagine that there is a bowl of fruit. In this bowl there are apples, oranges, and peaches. If is used to list the apples and oranges, it would give the listener the impression that there are no peaches. This is called an ‘exhaustive’ list, meaning that all possibilities should be listed. However, if is used, the listener would know that there are other things in the bowl apart from the apples and oranges. In this way, is a better choice when you want to say ‘and’, but don’t want to limit the group that you are listing.
  • 昨日(きのう)飲(の)み会(かい)ビールワイン飲(の)ん
    Last night at the party, I drank beer and wine. (Only beer and wine)
  • 昨日(きのう)飲(の)み会(かい)ビールワイン飲(の)ん
    Last night at the party, I drank things like beer and wine. (There were other things, but it was mainly beer and wine)
Caution
cannot be used after verb phrases. This is done with たり, or とか.
Slow Male
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コンビニ水(みず)おかし買(か)った
I bought things like water and snacks at the convenience store.
Play  
ひらがなカタカナ漢字(かんじ)があります
There are things like Hiragana and Katakana and Kanji.
Play  
京都(きょうと)東京(とうきょう)大阪(おおさか)行(い)きました
I went to places like Kyoto and Tokyo and Osaka.
Play  
Books
Genki I
Page 216
Marugoto Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai
Page 57
みんなの日本語 I
Page 68 [CH 10]
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 256
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 536
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 69