〜たり

The particle 〜たり (tari) is a versatile Japanese grammatical structure used to list representative actions or states. Its primary function is to indicate that the items mentioned are just a few examples out of a larger set of possibilities. When you use 〜たり, you are telling the listener, "I did things like A and B," implying that you might have also done C, D, and E, but A and B are the most relevant or representative examples for the current conversation. This is fundamentally different from the 〜て (te-form), which usually implies a chronological sequence or a complete list of actions. For instance, saying 'I ate and slept' with the te-form suggests you ate first, then slept, and that's the extent of the story. Using 〜たり suggests a more relaxed, non-sequential listing where the order doesn't necessarily matter and other activities are implied.

Core Nuance

Non-exhaustive listing: It highlights specific examples without excluding other unmentioned actions.

In the example above, the speaker highlights reading and watching movies as their main activities. However, the use of 〜たり implies they also likely ate, showered, talked to friends, or cleaned their room—those actions just aren't the focus. This makes 〜たり an essential tool for casual conversation, as it prevents the speaker from sounding overly robotic or pedantic about every single detail of their day. It creates a 'vibe' of the activity rather than a strict logbook entry.

Grammatical Requirement

A sentence using 〜たり must almost always end with a form of the verb する (suru). This final verb carries the tense and politeness level.

Furthermore, 〜たり can be used to describe alternating states or repetitive actions that occur in cycles. For example, 'The weather is sometimes good and sometimes bad' or 'People coming and going.' This usage emphasizes the fluctuation or the variety of the situation. It is not limited to just two items; you can use it for one item to imply 'things like X' or three or more, though two is the most common pattern in daily speech.

Visualizing the List

Imagine a cloud of activities. 〜たり picks two or three out of the cloud to show the listener what the cloud contains.

In summary, 〜たり is the go-to structure for describing a variety of actions or states without being exhaustive. It adds a natural, descriptive flow to Japanese sentences, allowing speakers to group related or contrasting ideas together under a single 'suru' umbrella. Whether you are describing your hobbies, your symptoms at the doctor, or the fluctuating stock market, 〜たり provides the necessary framework to express 'this and that' with ease.

Mastering 〜たり requires understanding two main components: the conjugation of the words themselves and the sentence-ending requirement. The formation is based on the Ta-form (plain past tense) of verbs, adjectives, and nouns. Once you have the Ta-form, you simply add り (ri). This applies across all word classes, making it a very consistent rule once you know your past tense conjugations.

Verb Conjugation

Take the Ta-form and add 'ri'.
• Taberu → Tabeta → Tabetari
• Nomu → Nonda → Nondari
• Suru → Shita → Shitari

For I-adjectives, you change the final 'i' to 'kattari'. For Na-adjectives and Nouns, you add 'dattari'. This allows you to describe fluctuating states or qualities. For example, 'The test was sometimes easy and sometimes hard' would use these forms. It's important to remember that even when listing adjectives or nouns, the sentence usually concludes with a form of 'suru' or 'desu' depending on the grammatical role of the clause.

Adjective & Noun Conjugation

• Samui (Cold) → Samukattari
• Kirei (Beautiful) → Kireidattari
• Ame (Rain) → Amedattari

One of the most common mistakes for learners is forgetting the final する (suru). Think of 〜たり as a list of items that needs a verb to 'carry' them. Without 'suru', the sentence feels like a dangling list. You can conjugate 'suru' into any form: します (polite), した (past), している (ongoing), or even したい (want to). This flexibility is what makes the structure so powerful.

The 'Suru' Variations

• 〜たりします (Present Habit/Future)
• 〜たりしました (Past Event)
• 〜たりしたい (Desire to do things like...)
• 〜たりしてください (Request to do things like...)

When listing multiple items, the standard pattern is [A]たり [B]たり する. While you can technically use just one 〜たり (e.g., [A]たりする), it is much more common and sounds more natural to list at least two. If you use only one, it strongly implies 'and other things like that.' In formal writing, you might see 〜たり used without a final 'suru' if it's connecting clauses, but for B1 level learners, sticking to the '...tari ...tari suru' pattern is the safest and most effective way to communicate.

Finally, pay attention to the particles within the 〜たり phrases. They remain exactly as they would be in a normal sentence. If you 'eat an apple' (ringo o taberu), it becomes 'ringo o tabetari'. The only thing that changes is the verb ending. This consistency makes it easier to build complex sentences once you are comfortable with the basic conjugation rules.

The 〜たり structure is ubiquitous in Japanese, appearing in everything from casual street slang to formal business reports. However, the way it is used changes depending on the context. In daily life, you will hear it most often when people are describing their routines, their weekend plans, or their general state of being. It's the standard way to answer the question 'What did you do?' when you don't want to list every single minute detail of your day.

Daily Conversation

Used to give a general idea of activities. 'I just hung out, watched YouTube, etc.'
Example: YouTubeを見たりして過ごした。

In the workplace, 〜たり is used to describe job responsibilities or project tasks. It sounds professional yet acknowledges that the listed tasks are not the only things the person does. For example, a job description might say 'Tasks include answering phones and creating documents.' Using 〜たり here is safer than the te-form because it doesn't imply that the employee only does those two things in that specific order.

Business Context

Used to list representative duties or possibilities in a proposal.
Example: 会議の準備をしたり、資料を作成したりします。

You will also frequently encounter 〜たり in literature and news reports to describe fluctuating phenomena. Weather reports are a prime example: 'The waves will be high at times' or 'It will be cloudy with occasional sun.' In these contexts, it often appears as a single 〜たり followed by a noun or verb, acting almost like an adverbial phrase to describe the 'on-and-off' nature of the event.

News & Media

Used for weather, market fluctuations, or social trends.
Example: 株価が上がったり下がったりしています。

Finally, in pop culture—songs, anime, and manga—〜たり is used to express the chaotic or multifaceted nature of emotions. A character might say they are 'happy and sad' or 'wanting to see you but also wanting to run away.' This usage captures the complexity of human feelings by listing them as simultaneous or alternating possibilities. It's a very 'human' grammar point that moves beyond simple logic into the realm of descriptive experience.

Whether you're listening to a friend talk about their holiday or reading a report on economic trends, 〜たり is the signal that you are hearing a selection of representative examples. It invites the listener to fill in the gaps with their own imagination, making the Japanese language feel more expressive and less rigid.

While 〜たり is a relatively straightforward structure, there are several pitfalls that learners frequently encounter. The most significant error is the omission of the final する (suru). In English, we can say 'I read and watched TV,' and the sentence is complete. In Japanese, if you say 'Hon o yondari, terebi o mitari,' the sentence is grammatically incomplete. It's like saying 'Doing things like reading and watching...' and then stopping. You must add 'shimashita' or another form of 'suru' to anchor the sentence.

Mistake #1: Missing 'Suru'

❌ 週末は買い物をしたり、映画を見たり。
✅ 週末は買い物をしたり、映画を見たりしました。

Another common error is using 〜たり for a sequence of events where the order matters. If you want to say 'I went to the station, bought a ticket, and got on the train,' you should use the te-form. Using 〜たり would imply that you did these things in a random order or that they were just examples of things you did at the station, which doesn't make sense for a logical sequence. Use 〜たり for activities that are independent of each other.

Mistake #2: Sequential Confusion

Don't use 〜たり for 'Step 1, Step 2, Step 3.' Use it for 'Activity A, Activity B, etc.'

Learners also struggle with the conjugation of Na-adjectives and Nouns. Many forget the 'da' and just add 'ri', resulting in 'kireitari' instead of the correct 'kireidattari'. Remember that 〜たり is built on the past tense. The past tense of 'kirei' is 'kireidatta', so the 〜たり form must be 'kireidattari'. Similarly, for 'ame' (rain), it is 'amedattari'.

Mistake #3: Incorrect Noun/Na-Adj Conjugation

❌ 暇たり、忙しかったりします。
✅ 暇だったり、忙しかったりします。

A fourth mistake is mixing the politeness levels within the 〜たり list. While the final 'suru' determines the politeness of the sentence, the words attached to 〜たり should always be in their plain past (Ta-form). You cannot say 'tabemashitari' or 'nomimashitari'. It must always be 'tabetari' and 'nondari'. The politeness is 'saved' for the very end of the sentence.

Mistake #4: Over-politeness

❌ 行きましたり、見ましたりします。
✅ 行ったり、見たりします。

Finally, avoid overusing 〜たり. While it's a great tool, using it for every single sentence can make your Japanese sound repetitive or vague. If you are certain about the two things you did and want to emphasize their connection, other structures might be better. But for general descriptions of variety and representative examples, it remains the most natural choice.

Understanding 〜たり also means knowing when not to use it and what other options are available. The most common point of confusion is between 〜たり, 〜て, and the noun-listing particle 〜や. Each has a specific role in Japanese grammar, and choosing the right one depends on whether you are listing actions, states, or objects, and whether that list is exhaustive.

〜たり vs. 〜て (Te-form)

〜て implies a sequence or a complete list of actions. 〜たり implies a non-exhaustive list of representative examples.

In example A, the speaker is likely describing their evening in order. In example B, the speaker is giving examples of how they spent their time, perhaps over a whole day, and the order is irrelevant. Another similar structure is 〜や (ya), which is used specifically for nouns. While 〜たり lists actions (verbs) or states (adjectives), 〜や lists objects. If you want to say 'I bought things like apples and oranges,' you use 〜や. If you want to say 'I did things like buy apples and eat oranges,' you use 〜たり.

〜たり vs. 〜や (Ya)

〜や is for nouns (apples, books). 〜たり is for actions (buying, reading).

Another word often confused with 〜たり is 〜など (nado). While 〜など also means 'etc.' or 'and so on,' it is a particle that follows a noun or a list. You can actually use them together: 'A-tari B-tari nado suru' is a common way to emphasize that the list is just a small sample. However, 〜など cannot conjugate verbs on its own; it needs a noun or a full clause to attach to, whereas 〜たり is built directly into the verb/adjective conjugation.

〜たり vs. 〜とか (Toka)

〜とか is very casual and can be used for both nouns and verbs (in dictionary form). 〜たり is slightly more structured and common in standard speech.

Finally, there is the structure 〜し (shi), which is used to list reasons or characteristics. While 〜たり lists representative actions, 〜し lists contributing factors. If you say 'The food is cheap and the atmosphere is good,' you would use 〜し. If you say 'The food is sometimes cheap and sometimes expensive,' you would use 〜たり. Choosing between these depends on whether you are stating facts to support an argument (〜し) or describing variety/examples (〜たり).

By comparing these similar structures, you can see that 〜たり occupies a unique space in Japanese. It is the primary way to handle verbs and adjectives in a non-exhaustive, descriptive list. Understanding these nuances will help you sound more like a native speaker and less like you are translating directly from your first language.