や
Things like, And the like
Structure
Explanation
The particle や has multiple functions in Japanese, but it is most frequently encountered as an adverbial particle. It functions much like と ('and'), but instead of presenting a complete list, it offers examples such as '(A) and (B), among other things'.
や is used exclusively for joining nouns and is placed immediately after the nouns in the list.
- この本屋には雑誌や小説が売っている。This bookstore sells things like magazines and novels.
- 猫や犬はかわいいです。Animals like cats and dogs are cute.
To understand the distinction between と and や, consider a pencil case containing a pen, a pencil, and an eraser. Using と to mention the pen and pencil suggests those are the only items inside. This is known as an 'exhaustive' list, which implies completeness. Conversely, using や indicates to the listener that there are other items in the pencil case besides the pen and pencil. Because of this, や is often a more suitable choice when you want to list a few examples without excluding other possibilities.
- スーパーで玉ねぎと人参を買いました。I bought onions and carrots at the supermarket. (Implying that's all I bought)
- スーパーで玉ねぎや人参を買いました。I bought things like onions and carrots at the supermarket. (Among other groceries)
Caution
や cannot be used to connect verb phrases. For listing actions, grammar patterns like たり or とか are used instead.
Examples
本屋でノートやペンを買いました。
I bought things like notebooks and pens at the bookstore.
学校で英語や数学や歴史を勉強します。
At school, I study subjects like English, math, and history.
夏休みにアメリカやカナダやメキシコへ旅行したい。
I want to travel to places like America, Canada, and Mexico during summer vacation.
ゲームやスポーツをするのが好き。
I like doing things like playing games and sports.
朝はお茶や牛乳を飲でください。
In the morning, please drink things like tea and milk.
パーティーで田中さんや山田さんにも会った。
I also met people like Tanaka-san and Yamada-san at the party.
あの動物園にライオンやトラがいる。
There are animals like lions and tigers at that zoo.
明日のハイキングに帽子やサングラスを持ってきてください。
For tomorrow's hike, please bring things like a hat and sunglasses.
彼女の服は白やピンクが多い。
She has a lot of clothes in colors like white and pink.
月曜日や水曜日にも、授業があります。
I also have classes on days like Monday and Wednesday.
カバンの中に財布や鍵があります。
There are things like a wallet and keys inside my bag.
J-POPやロックを聞く。
To listen to music like J-Pop and rock.