Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 7: 18/21

とか

I heard that… something like, They said ... or something

Structure


Verb + とか
［い］Adjective + とか
［な］Adjective + とか
Noun + とか

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About とか

Being a combination of the particles と and か, とか 'quotes' the previous statement as being something that has been heard, but is unconfirmed or uncertain. In English, this translates as 'I heard something like (A)', or '(A) or something was said'.
とか may appear after verbs, い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, or nouns.
  • 遠藤(えんどう)さんと近藤(こんどう)さんが結婚(けっこん)するとか。意外(いがい)じゃない？
    I heard that Endo-san and Kondo-san are getting married or something. Isn't that surprising?
  • あの大手(おおて)家電(かでん)メーカーが開発(かいはつ)した最新(さいしん)のスマホはたくさんのブロートウェアがインストールされているせいで動作(どうさ)がものすごく重(おも)いとか。
    I heard that the latest smartphone developed by that major appliance manufacturer performs extremely slow because of all the bloatware that comes installed, or something like that.
  • 高橋(たかはし)くんの彼女(かのじょ)が美人(びじん)だとか。あんなやつに美人(びじん)な彼女(かのじょ)ができたとは信(しん)じられないけどな。
    I heard that Takahashi's girlfriend is beautiful or something. I can't believe that a guy like that could have a beautiful girlfriend, though.
  • あの人(ひと)は実(じつ)はお金持(かねも)ちだとか。
    I heard that person is actually rich or something.
This meaning of 'or something' when using とか is fairly casual and will often be heard in everyday conversation.
Caution - This combination of と and か may appear the same as the とか used to indicate lists, but the former is simply a combination of the case-marking particle と, and the adverbial particle か, while the latter is a single listing particle. Despite this, both structures are originally combinations of と and か, and may be thought to have some overlap in meaning.

Examples

  • めがねちゃん：「彼(かれ)が昨日(きのう)、何(なん)て言(い)ったか覚(おぼ)えてる？」
    ヤンキー君：「明日(あした)、１１時(じ)ごろに学校(がっこう)の前(まえ)で会(あ)おうとか言(い)っていたようだけど、定(さだ)かではない。」

    Megane-chan: 'Do you remember what he said yesterday?'
    Yankee-kun: 'He said, 'lets meet in front of school around 11' or something like that, but I am not really sure.'

  • 社長(しゃちょう)は年末(ねんまつ)年始(ねんし)に温泉(おんせん)旅行(りょこう)に行(い)ってらっしゃるとか。

    I heard that the company president is going on a hot springs trip over New Years or something like that.

  • AKB48という音楽(おんがく)グループは解散(かいさん)するとか。

    I heard that the music group called AKB48 is going to break up or something like that.

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とか – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • daniellacda

    daniellacda

    Hello！
    According to Shin Kanzen master n3 dokkai, ～とか is used only with unconfirmed hearsay.
    The first example sentence in Bunpro is:

    めがねちゃん:「彼かれが昨日きのう、何なんて言いったか覚おぼえてる？」
    ヤンキー君:「明日あした、１１時じごろに学校がっこうの前まえで会あおうとか言いっていたようだけど、定さだかではない。」

    And it doesn’t fit with the Kanzen master explanation, it’s not really hearsay, but rather what the guy remembers from what he was told.
    Can somebody elaborate a bit on this？Thank you！ <3

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey @daniellacda !

    We apologize for the late response.
    とか is not only used for unconfirmed hearsay. It can also be used like そうだ or と聞いた. It can also be used when you don’t want to say something with certainty, so that you are not held accountable for what you said. Because it is used like that a lot of the times, it could give the listener the impression that the speaker is not the most credible and that they should take what you are saying with a grain of salt.

    We hope that answers your question!

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