Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 7: 13/13

たり~たりする

Things like ~ and ~

Structure Legend

Structure

Verb[た] + (Verb[た]) + する
Verb[た] + [する]Verb(した) + する

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Particle

  • Word Type

    Conjunctive Particle

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    助詞

  • 単語の種類

    接続助詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About たり~たりする

In Japanese, たり is a 'conjunction particle' that is used in exactly the same way as . However, instead of having the nuance of 'then', or 'and', it has the nuance of 'and things like'. Basically, it is used for listing sequences of events that do not happen in a specific order.
The last たり in any sequence will almost always be followed by する (or した for past tense).
  • (やす)()(いえ)テレビ()たり()たりする
    On my days off, I do things like watch tv and sleep at home.
  • ()(かい)()たり()だりした
    At the party, I did things like eat and drink.
From these examples we can see that たり will sometimes be said as だり. This happens with the same verbs that usually use だ for past tense (like ()んだ), or for the form ( like (およ)いで). This will not change the meaning at all, and is only to help make the words easier to say.
To summarize, the difference between form, and たり is as follows.
Events in order - I did (A) , (B) , (C) , (D) た.
Events in no specific order - I did (D) たり, (B) たり, (A) たり, (C) たりした.
たり is frequently used when there is only one verb in the sentence. This just means that the speaker did 'things like (A)', without specifically listing anything else.
  • (むかし)あそこ(いけ)(およ)だりした
    In the past, I used to swim in that lake over there. (Among other things)
Caution
In cases where a する verb is the last verb in a particular sequence, たり will often be omitted.
  • 勉強(べんきょう)たり、おやつ()たり掃除(そうじ)します。
    I do things like study, eat snacks, and also clean. (In no specific order)

Examples

  • (いえ)ゲームたり()たりした

    At home, I did things like play video games and eat.

  • 音楽(おんがく)()たり(ほん)()だりしました

    I did things like listen to music and read books.

  • 掃除(そうじ)たり洗濯(せんたく)たりした

    I did things like cleaning and doing the laundry.

  • (あめ)()たり()だりする

    It keeps doing things like raining and stopping, doesn't it.

  • 今日(きょう)勉強(べんきょう)たり練習(れんしゅう)たりする

    Today I will do things like study and practice.

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たり~たりする – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (15 in total)

  • EdBunpro

    EdBunpro

    About 2 years ago

    Are you asking why it’s 降ったりinstead of 降たり?

  • Superpnut

    Superpnut

    About 2 years ago

    No I actually just forgot that the stuff in [ x x x ] tells you what you’re supposed to use for the answer. I feel very silly right now. But uhh…ya. My fault guys

  • EdBunpro

    EdBunpro

    About 2 years ago

    Asking these things is how you learn and push your brain more and more, ask all the ‘dumb’ questions you want!

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