と・や・など — Listing Nouns

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to list nouns in two different ways:

• と (to) for complete, exhaustive lists
• や (ya)…など (nado) for partial, open-ended lists

In English, we often say "A, B, and C" when we mean only those items. Other times we say "A, B, and so on" to suggest there are more. Japanese makes this distinction clearly with two different particles.

1. Using と (to) — Exhaustive List

と connects nouns to say "A and B (and that's all)." It means the list is complete.

Example:

• りんごとバナナを買いました。
  Ringo to banana o kaimashita.
  "I bought apples and bananas (and nothing else)."買

  買

• 田中さんと山田さんが来ました。
  Tanaka-san to Yamada-san ga kimashita.
  "Tanaka and Yamada came (only those two)."田中山来

  田中山来

2. Using や (ya)…など (nado) — Partial List

や means "and, among other things." It implies the list is not complete.
など at the end means "etc." or "and so on."

Example:

• りんごやバナナなどを買いました。
  Ringo ya banana nado o kaimashita.
  "I bought apples, bananas, and so on."買

  買

• 日本や韓国などに行きました。
  Nihon ya Kankoku nado ni ikimashita.
  "I went to Japan, Korea, and other places."日本韓国行

  日本韓国行

Key Difference

1. コーヒーと紅茶を飲みました。
   Kōhī to kōcha o nomimashita.
   "I drank coffee and tea (only those two)."紅茶飲

   紅茶飲

2. コーヒーや紅茶などを飲みました。
   Kōhī ya kōcha nado o nomimashita.
   "I drank coffee, tea, and other drinks."紅茶飲

   紅茶飲

3. 犬と猫がいます。
   Inu to neko ga imasu.
   "I have a dog and a cat (only those two pets)."犬猫

   犬猫

4. 犬や猫などがいます。
   Inu ya neko nado ga imasu.
   "I have a dog, a cat, and other pets."犬猫

   犬猫

❌ Using と when you mean "and other things"
→ 本とペンを買いました。
(This says you bought only a book and a pen.)本買

✅ Use や…など to show there were more items
→ 本やペンなどを買いました。
(This says you bought a book, a pen, and other items.)本買

Fill in the blanks with と or や…など.

1. 私は日本語___英語を勉強しています。
   (I study Japanese and English — only these two languages.)
   → Answer: と私日本語英勉

   私日本語英勉

2. 昨日、映画___本___を読みました。
   (Yesterday I watched a movie, read a book, and did other things.)
   → Answer: や…など昨日映画本読

   昨日映画本読

3. スーパーで野菜___果物を買いました。
   (I bought vegetables and fruit at the supermarket — only those.)
   → Answer: と野菜果物買

   野菜果物買

• と (to) = exhaustive list ("A and B, and that's all")
• や (ya)…など (nado) = partial list ("A and B, among other things")

Next step: Practice by making two sentences about your own shopping list — one using と and one using や…など. Then try adding other nouns to see how the meaning changes!