たり〜たりする
Do Things Like
Use たり〜たりする to list a few examples of actions or states without implying they are the only things happening. It translates to 'doing things like...' or 'sometimes A, sometimes B'.
How It Works
The たり〜たり pattern is essential for describing activities or fluctuating states in a general, non-exhaustive way.
1. Formation:
The pattern is built by adding り to the plain past form of a word. Note that if the past form ends in だ (like 飲んだ（のんだ）), the suffix becomes だり.
- Verbs: た-form + り (e.g., 食べたり（たべたり）、飲んだり（のんだり）)
- い-Adjectives: Stem + かった + り (e.g., 暑かったり（あつかったり）)
- な-Adjectives/Nouns: Word + だった + り (e.g., 静かだったり（しずかだったり）、雨だったり（あめだったり）)
2. Non-Sequential Listing:
Unlike the て-form, which implies a chronological order (A then B), たり〜たり lists actions without a specific sequence. It suggests that these are just a few examples of various things that occurred.
3. Single たり Usage:
You don't always need two たり phrases. Using a single たり (e.g., 買い物に行ったりしました（かいものにいったりしました）) implies "I did things like going shopping (among other things)," making the statement sound less specific and more casual.
4. The Ending:
While する is the most common way to end this pattern to describe actions, it is not the only option. You can use the copula (だ/です) when describing alternating states (e.g., 暑かったり寒かったりです（あつかったりさむかったりです） - "It's sometimes hot and sometimes cold"). The final word determines the politeness and tense of the entire sentence.
5. Nuance:
Using this pattern implies that the speaker did other things besides what was mentioned. It is a way to give the listener a general idea of an activity or state without listing every single detail.
Examples (5)
- 週末は、本を読んだり、映画を見たりします。
On weekends, I do things like read books and watch movies.
Word by Word: Weekend (topic), books (object) read-tari, movies (object) watch-tari do.
This implies the speaker reads and watches movies, but might also do other things like cleaning or shopping.
- 昨日は掃除したり、洗濯したりしました。
Yesterday, I did things like cleaning and laundry.
Word by Word: Yesterday (topic) cleaning-did-tari, laundry-did-tari did.
Notice that the final verb is in the past tense (しました), but the internal verbs remain in the plain past form + り.
- この頃の天気は、暑かったり寒かったりします。
The weather lately is sometimes hot and sometimes cold.
Word by Word: Lately's weather (topic), hot-tari cold-tari does.
When used with opposite adjectives, it describes a state that changes back and forth.
- 休みの日、デパートは賑やかだったり静かだったりします。
On holidays, the department store is sometimes crowded and sometimes quiet.
Word by Word: Holiday's day, department store (topic) lively-was-tari quiet-was-tari does.
This shows how the pattern works with な-adjectives using だったり.
- 音楽を聞いたりしますか。
Do you do things like listen to music?
Word by Word: Music (object) listen-tari do (question)?
It is perfectly natural to use only one たり to give a single example of a type of activity.
Common Mistakes
Forgetting the final verb or copula.
週末は買い物をしたり、友達に会ったり。週末は買い物をしたり、友達に会ったりします。While the final verb is sometimes dropped in very casual speech, a complete sentence requires a verb like する or a copula like です to indicate tense and politeness.
Confusing the order of actions with the te-form.
朝起きて、顔を洗ったり、朝ご飯を食べたりします。朝起きて、顔を洗って、朝ご飯を食べます。The て-form is used for actions that happen in a specific sequence. The たり〜たり pattern is for listing actions in no particular order, implying they are just examples of what happened.
Changing the internal verbs to match the sentence tense.
昨日は本を読みたり、映画を見たりしました。昨日は本を読んだり、映画を見たりしました。The verbs inside the pattern must always be in the た-form. You cannot use the stem; it must be the plain past form, such as 読んだ（よんだ） becoming 読んだり（よんだり）.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'tari~tari suru', you must first understand how to conjugate verbs into their past tense (ta-form), which is structurally identical to the te-form. It is also helpful to understand the concept of non-exhaustive listing, which is first introduced with nouns using the particle 'ya'.
- て形Te-form
The tari-form is derived from the past tense (ta-form), which follows the same phonetic change patterns as the te-form.
Level 2 - やNon-exhaustive Listing
The concept of non-exhaustive listing for nouns (using 'ya') provides the conceptual foundation for non-exhaustive listing of actions (using 'tari').
Level 1
Related Patterns
- て（接続）And/then
The て-form is used for sequential actions (A then B), whereas たり is for non-sequential examples.
Level 2 - しAnd/moreover
Both list things, but し is typically used to list reasons or multiple qualities of a single subject.
Level 2 - た形Plain Past
The たり pattern is built directly upon the plain past (た-form) of verbs and adjectives.
Level 2 - とかListing Examples
とか is a more casual way to list examples, often used with nouns or short phrases.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
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