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

Particle
Case Marking Particle
Standard

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.

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.

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.
「彼(かれ)はここに来(き)ますか」と聞(き)いた。
I asked, 'Is he coming here?' (asked)
「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?'
先生(せんせい)が「危(あぶ)ない」と書(か)いた。
The teacher wrote, 'It is dangerous'.
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Online
- Citation
  Imabi
- Quoting What Someone Said Using Japanese Particle と
  LearnJapaneseAdventure
- Said in Japanese (と言った vs って言ってた)
  Japanese Ammo
- The direct quote
  Tae Kim
- と: Generic Quotation
  Wasabi

Offline
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 478
- Genki I 2nd Edition
  Page 193
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 153
- みんなの日本語 I
  Page 134 [CH 21]
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と – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (25 in total)

MikkaT
ありがとう I hope it will and it is good to know that it is common with おもう
DrJedd
Would it make sense to use と in sentences like :
- I learned the kanji for “this word” today
- I still don’t know how to say “that word”
- I’m having trouble with “vocab”
Today I wrote to a friend I made in Japan. I wanted to tell them I learned a new kanji. I phrased it like this:

今日は、「床」の漢字勉強しました。

But during my Bunpro grammar study I just learned about と being used after quotation marks and now I’m questioning if the above is correct or if there’s a better way to say it.
casual
Your sentence is fine, it will get the meaning across.
In this kind of situation you can use this construction: という (JLPT N3) | Bunpro. Just と on its own is not enough.

You can also quote with って (JLPT N5) | Bunpro if you speak more casually.