LEARN + JAPANESE / 72 of 186 JLPT N4
Doing This and That 〜たり〜たりする
A weekend is rarely one neat sequence: you might hang out with friends, eat together, and do a few other things. たり〜たりする gives representative activities without claiming the list is complete or in a fixed order.
On weekends I often do things like hang out with friends and eat together.
While studying abroad, we often did things like memorize kanji and write reports, didn't we?
Hint · 힌트
Compare this to て, which links actions in a fixed sequence, and し, which stacks up reasons. たり〜たりする deliberately loosens both, “things like this and that,” implying a fuller, messier reality behind just the two examples given.
Every day I do things like swim and run.
To go back and forth.
Hint · 힌트
行ったり来たりする is a set phrase built on this same pattern, “to go back and forth,” using two opposite verbs to describe repeated motion in both directions rather than a representative sample of activities.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to draw a picture | |
| to run | |
| while studying abroad | |
| manga cafe | |
| boxed lunch | |
| organic | |
| loud voice | |
| park | |
| art museum | |
| to swim | |
| various | |
| to relax | |
| action, behavior | |
| for example | |
| to spend (time) | |
| change of pace | |
| hobby | |
| daily routine | |
| free time | |
| lessons one takes |
YOUR PROGRESS
Finished this lesson?
Save your place in this course.