～たり～たりする

The Japanese grammatical structure ～たり～たりする is a fundamental B1-level phrase used to list representative actions or states among several possibilities. Unlike the simple 'te-form' (～て), which implies a chronological sequence (doing A, then B, then C), the tari-tari form suggests that the actions mentioned are just examples of a larger set of activities. When a speaker uses this form, they are telling the listener, 'I did things like A and B, and perhaps other things too, but these are the ones I want to highlight.' It is the linguistic equivalent of saying 'doing things like...' or 'sometimes... sometimes...' in English. This nuance is crucial because it removes the pressure of being exhaustive; you don't have to list every single thing you did during your weekend to give a clear picture of your experience.

Core Function

To provide non-exhaustive examples of actions or states within a specific timeframe or context.

One of the most common scenarios for using this phrase is when answering the question 'What did you do over the weekend?' If you say 本を読んだり、映画を見たりしました (Hon o yundari, eiga o mitari shimashita), you are conveying that reading and watching movies were your primary activities, but you likely also ate, slept, and perhaps went for a walk. The focus is on the nature of your time rather than the order of events. This makes it incredibly useful for casual conversation where providing a minute-by-minute itinerary would be socially awkward or unnecessary. It allows for a 'vibe' or 'summary' of a period of time.

Beyond just listing actions, this pattern is frequently used to describe alternating states or fluctuating conditions. For instance, when describing the weather, you might say it was 'sometimes raining and sometimes sunny.' In Japanese, this is expressed as 雨が降ったり、晴れたりしています. This usage extends to emotional states or physical conditions as well, such as feeling 'sometimes happy and sometimes sad' or a price 'going up and down.' The repetition of the tari suffix creates a rhythmic sense of oscillation or variety that is very natural to native speakers.

Register and Tone

It is widely used in both polite (desu/masu) and casual (plain) speech, making it one of the most versatile patterns for intermediate learners.

Furthermore, while the pattern is called 'tari-tari', it is technically possible to use only one tari (e.g., 本を読んだりしました). This implies 'I did things like reading (among other things),' but using at least two examples is much more common and helps establish the 'representative list' nuance more clearly. When you use two or more, you create a balanced picture of the situation. It is also important to note that the final suru carries the tense for the entire sentence. If the actions happened in the past, you use shimashita or shita; if they are habitual, you use shimasu or suru.

In summary, ～たり～たりする is the 'sampler platter' of Japanese grammar. It allows you to present a selection of activities or states without the burden of chronology or completeness. It is essential for moving beyond simple, linear storytelling into more natural, descriptive Japanese that mirrors how people actually think about and describe their lives.

The construction of ～たり～たりする relies heavily on your knowledge of the 'Ta-form' (past tense) of verbs and adjectives. The basic rule is to take the plain past form and add ri to the end. This applies to verbs, i-adjectives, na-adjectives, and even nouns. Understanding this conjugation is the first step to mastering the pattern. Let's break down each category to see how they transform.

Verb Conjugation

Take the Ta-form and add 'ri'.
Group 1: 行く → 行った → 行ったり
Group 2: 食べる → 食べた → 食べたり
Group 3: する → した → したり / 来る → 来た → 来たり

For verbs, the process is straightforward. If you can conjugate a verb into its past tense, you can make a tari form. For example, if you want to say you 'walked and ran,' you take aruita (walked) and hashitta (ran) to get aruitari, hashittari shimashita. The final suru is the engine that drives the sentence. It determines the politeness and the tense. If you are talking to a boss, use shimasu; if you are talking to a friend about last night, use shita.

Adjectives follow a similar logic but use their own past tense forms. For i-adjectives, the past tense ends in ~katta, so you add ri to get ~kattari. For example, samui (cold) becomes samukattari. For na-adjectives and nouns, the past tense is ~datta, so you add ri to get ~dattari. This is often used to describe fluctuating states. A movie might be 'sometimes interesting and sometimes boring' (面白かったり、つまらなかったりします).

Adjective & Noun Conjugation

i-Adj: 暑い → 暑かった → 暑かったり
na-Adj: 暇だ → 暇だった → 暇だったり
Noun: 雨 → 雨だった → 雨だったり

One common pitfall for learners is mixing up the tari form with the te form. Remember: te form is for a sequence (A then B), while tari form is for a list (A and B among others). If you use te form to describe your weekend, it sounds like a chronological report. If you use tari, it sounds like a casual summary. Also, never forget the final suru. It is the most common mistake for beginners to end the sentence with just the second tari, which makes the sentence feel like it's hanging off a cliff.

Finally, consider the negative form. While less common, you can say 'doing things like not A and not B' by using the negative past tense (~nakatta) plus ri. For example, tabenakattari (not eating). However, usually, the tari form is used for positive examples of actions. If you want to say you 'didn't do much,' you might say 寝たり、何もしなかったりしました (I did things like sleeping and doing nothing).

The ～たり～たりする pattern is ubiquitous in Japanese daily life, appearing in everything from casual chats to professional weather forecasts. Its primary home is in the realm of 'descriptive summary.' When people talk about their routines, their hobbies, or their experiences, they naturally reach for this structure to avoid sounding like they are reading a list of chores. It provides a conversational 'softness' that is highly valued in Japanese social interaction.

Daily Conversations

Used to describe weekend plans, holiday activities, or how one spent their evening. It's the standard way to answer 'How have you been?' or 'What did you do?'

In a work environment, you might hear it when a colleague describes their varied tasks. A manager might say, 会議に出たり、資料を作ったりしています (I'm doing things like attending meetings and creating documents). Here, it serves to show that they are busy with multiple responsibilities without needing to specify the exact order or every single minor task like checking emails. It gives a professional yet comprehensive overview of their workload.

Another very common place to encounter this is in media, particularly weather reports and news. Meteorologists often use it to describe unstable weather conditions. You will frequently hear 晴れたり曇ったり (sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy). Similarly, in financial news, reporters use it to describe market fluctuations: 上がったり下がったり (going up and down). The repetitive nature of the grammar perfectly mirrors the repetitive nature of these physical phenomena.

In the context of health and wellness, doctors or patients use it to describe symptoms that come and go. A patient might say, 痛かったり、痛くなかったりします (It's sometimes painful and sometimes not). This is much more precise than saying 'It hurts,' as it captures the intermittent nature of the pain. It's also used in advice-giving; a teacher might tell a student to 読んだり書いたりして覚えてください (Please remember by doing things like reading and writing).

Finally, you'll see it in instructional manuals or hobby guides. A cooking video might suggest 焼いたり、煮たりして食べます (Eat it by doing things like grilling or boiling). In all these contexts, the tari-tari form provides a flexible way to categorize actions, making the language feel more fluid and less like a rigid list of instructions. It's a key marker of moving from 'textbook Japanese' to 'real-world Japanese.'

While ～たり～たりする is a powerful tool, it has several grammatical 'traps' that English speakers often fall into. The most frequent error is forgetting the final suru. Because English doesn't have a direct equivalent to this 'closing verb,' learners often stop after the second tari. For example, saying *本を読んだり、映画を見たり。 is grammatically incomplete. While it might be understood in very casual, fragmented speech, it sounds like an unfinished thought. You must add shimasu, shimashita, or shite imasu to anchor the sentence.

Mistake 1: Missing 'Suru'

Incorrect: 掃除をしたり、洗濯をしたり。
Correct: 掃除をしたり、洗濯をしたりします。

Another common mistake is using the tari form for actions that happen in a strict chronological order. If you want to say 'I ate breakfast and then went to school,' you should use the te form: 朝ご飯を食べて、学校へ行きました. If you use tari, it implies that eating breakfast and going to school were just two random things you did, perhaps at different times or repeatedly, which doesn't make sense for a daily morning routine. Use tari for 'representative examples,' not 'sequential steps.'

Conjugation errors are also frequent. Learners sometimes forget that the tari form is based on the Ta-form (past tense). They might try to attach ri to the dictionary form or the masu-stem. For example, *食べたり is correct because tabeta is the past tense, but *食べるり or *食べり are incorrect. This is why mastering the Ta-form is a prerequisite for this grammar point. If you struggle with Ta-form, you will struggle with tari-tari.

Mistake 2: Wrong Base

Incorrect: 飲みり、食べりします。
Correct: 飲んだり、食べたりします。

Lastly, some learners over-rely on this form when listing things that are actually a fixed set. If you are listing the only two people in a room, tari is inappropriate because it implies there are others. In that case, use to (and). Tari always carries the nuance of 'among others.' If you use it when the list is actually complete, it can create confusion or make you sound vague. Use it when you want to be intentionally general or when the list is truly just a sample of a larger whole.

Japanese has several ways to list items or actions, and choosing the right one depends on the nuance you want to convey. The most common alternatives to ～たり～たりする are the te-form (～て), the particle ya (～や), and the structure shi (～し). Understanding the differences between these is key to achieving natural fluency. While they all 'connect' things, they do so in very different ways.

Comparison: ～たり vs. ～て

～て (Te-form): Sequential. A happened, then B happened. It is exhaustive for that specific sequence.
～たり: Non-sequential and non-exhaustive. A and B are just examples.

The te-form is like a chain; each link follows the previous one. If you say 起きて、食べて、寝ました, you are describing a chronological day. If you use tari, you are just picking out highlights. Another alternative is the particle ya, which is used specifically for nouns. Like tari, ya implies 'and others.' For example, 本や雑誌 (books and magazines, etc.). However, ya cannot be used with verbs or adjectives. Tari is much more versatile because it can handle any part of speech.

Then there is ~shi (～し). This is used to list reasons or characteristics, often to lead up to a conclusion. For example, 'The food is good, and it's cheap (so I like it).' In Japanese: おいしいし、安いし（好きです）. While tari lists examples of actions or states, shi lists 'points' or 'reasons.' If you want to explain why you like a city, use shi. If you want to describe what you do in that city, use tari.

Comparison: ～たり vs. ～し

～し: Lists facts or reasons that support a conclusion. (Emphasis on 'because' or 'furthermore').
～たり: Lists actions or states as examples. (Emphasis on 'sometimes' or 'doing things like').

Lastly, for very formal writing, you might see ~to ka (～とか) used with verbs, but this is much more colloquial. Tari remains the standard, balanced choice for most situations. By mastering tari-tari, you gain the ability to speak about your life in a way that feels 'open' and conversational, rather than just reciting a list of facts. It is a vital step in moving from basic sentence construction to natural Japanese discourse.