Japanese Day 29 – The や (Ya) Particle

Today we are looking at another sentence marker, the や (ya) particle. This one is pretty common and also very straight forward, so let’s get in to it. 

The や (ya) Particle

The や (ya) particle basically means “and” in a sentence …but its different than the と(to) particle, which we have already covered on Day 12. Don’t worry; it’s easy to tell them apart.

や (ya) is used when you have a non definitive list. So you are saying “this and that” …but you are implying there is more. The list is not fully defined. It is a subtle difference, but it is important.

If I say something like “I like fish and chicken” I can use either や (ya) or と(to)

私は魚や鶏肉が好きです

私は魚と鶏肉が好きです

If I say魚や鶏肉 “fish YA chicken” I am implying that this is not all I like …my list has more things on it, but for now I’m just saying these two things. I am not giving you the whole list. 

The や (ya) particle is often described as “giving examples” which makes sense, you are just giving a glimpse of the list of things you like.

However, if I were to say魚と鶏肉 “fish TO chicken” I am saying that this list is complete. There is nothing outside of these parameters. This “liking of fish and chicken” is definitive and 100% complete, there are no other things that I like.

I am sounding dramatic here, but this is the subtle differences between the two particles and you should look out for them.

So really you can read both version as “and” but there is a subtle difference to general vibe of the sentence. For us right now, this probably doesn’t matter, but as your Japanese develops this small difference does matter so it is worth looking out for and taking note of.  

(Return To: The Full List of All The Japanese Lessons)

Today’s Vocabulary

椅子 (いす) – Chair

旅行 (りょこう) – Travel/Trip

今朝 (けさ) – This Morning

ポスト – Post box

果物 (くだもの) – Fruit

靴 (くつ) – Shoe

大人 (おとな) – Adult

無くす (なくす) – To Lose (something)

Today’s Immersion Videos

It is taking me time to find/add more immersion videos. This section will be updated shortly!

Go To The Next Lesson: Day 30 – に行く(ni iku) and にする (ni suru)