Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 7/18

とかAmong other things, For example, Such as

For non-exhaustive lists

Structure

Verb (A) + とか + Verb (B) + （とか）
Adjective (A) + (だ) + とか + Adjective (B) + (だ) +（とか）
Noun (A) + とか + Noun (B) + （とか）

Details

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About とか～とか

とか is a word that belongs to a unique family of particles in Japanese called listing particles. As the name suggests, these particles are used for listing groups of items that share similarities. とか can be used after verbs, or nouns, to express 'among other things, (A)'.

When multiple things are listed, the last item in the list can (and often does) have とか omitted.

Caution

とか is used to list items in a non-exhaustive way. What this means is that the listener will assume that there are other items in the list, apart from what is stated directly. The speaker is just providing a few examples of a (potentially much larger) category.

Fun Fact

As we have seen, とか may be used with verb phrases. This is in contrast to や, a similar grammar point that can only be used for listing nouns.

  • 冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)の中(なか)にあるものを食(た)べるとかしてください。
    Eat what's in the refrigerator or something. (Natural Japanese)
  • 冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)の中(なか)にあるものを食(た)べるやしてください。
    Eat things in the refrigerator or something. (Unnatural Japanese, as や cannot be used with verbs)

Examples

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    青(あお)とか水色(みずいろ)が好(す)き。

    I like colors such as blue and light blue. (among others)

    明日(あした)とか今週末(こんしゅうまつ)とか、暇(ひま)なら、映画(えいが)を見(み)に行(い)こう。

    If you are free tomorrow or, for example this weekend, let's go watch a movie. (among others)

    トム・クルーズとかブラッド・ピットとかがかっこいいと思(おも)う。

    I think people like Tom Cruise for example, or Brad Pitt are cool. (among others)

    日本(にほん)とか、韓国(かんこく)とかに行(い)ってみたいですね。

    I want to go to places such as Japan and Korea. (among others)

    日本語(にほんご)で「th」の音(おと)とかはないです。

    Japanese doesn't have a 'th' sound (among other things).

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とか～とか – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

  • Howl_UK

    Howl_UK

    Tae Kim mentions that とか is a more colloquial version of や.
    The BunPro grammar point mentions that とか can be preceded by a verb phrase, whereas や cannot.

  • foodsam

    foodsam

    Thank you.

  • jugglenutz

    jugglenutz

    The structure points note that this can be used with adjectives, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that and there aren’t examples doing so…unless does it mean only with noun-like adjectives or something?
    “Adjective (A) + (だ) + とか + Adjective (B) + (だ) +（とか ）”

    Maybe like その国の料理は面白いだとか美味しいです
    or あの彼はユニークとかみたいですね

    Idk!

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