とか

Listing Examples

Level 2Sounds Like toka

Use とか to list examples when you want to imply there are other items you aren't mentioning. It is the casual, spoken equivalent of や or など.

How It Works

1. Listing Examples
The most common use is listing two or more items: [A] とか [B] とか. This translates to "A and B (among others)." While you can omit the final とか, repeating it is very common in speech.

2. Attaching to Different Parts of Speech
とか is very flexible compared to other listing particles:

  • Nouns: りんごとかバナナ (Apples, bananas, etc.)
  • Verbs: Use the plain form (dictionary, past, or negative). 掃除（そうじ）したとか洗濯（せんたく）したとか (Things like having cleaned or done laundry.)
  • Adjectives: い-adjectives use the plain form. For な-adjectives, the copula だ is optional before とか. You can say 好きだとか or simply 好きとか in casual conversation.

3. Softening and Vagueness
When used with only one item, it acts as a "softener" to make a suggestion or statement less direct. For example, 「コーヒーとかどう？」 (How about coffee or something?) sounds softer than asking for coffee specifically.

4. Sentence-Final Usage
In casual speech, people often end sentences with とか to trail off or avoid being too definitive. It implies "...or something like that" or "...and so on."

5. Hearsay and Rumors
とか can be used to report information you heard from an uncertain source, similar to "I heard that..." or "Something about..." It is often followed by verbs like 聞く（きく） (to hear) or 言う（いう） (to say).

6. Register
とか is conversational. It is very common in both casual and polite spoken Japanese (using ます form). However, it should be avoided in formal written documents, where や or など are preferred.

Examples (6)

  1. 週末は、映画を見に行ったとか、買い物をしたとか言っていました。

    They were saying things like they went to see a movie or went shopping.

    Word by Word: Weekend as-for, movie (object) see-to went such-as, shopping (object) did such-as saying was.

    This shows とか following verbs in the plain past form to list examples of what someone said they did.

  2. 冷蔵庫にジュースとかコーラとかがありますよ。

    There's juice, cola, and stuff in the fridge.

    Word by Word: Refrigerator in juice such-as cola such-as (subject) exist you-know.

    This lists nouns. It implies there might be other drinks besides just juice and cola.

  3. 彼はその店が嫌いだとか言っていますが、本当でしょうか。

    He says things like he hates that shop, but I wonder if it's true.

    Word by Word: He as-for that shop (subject) dislike-is such-as saying is but, truth is-it?

    When used with な-adjectives like 嫌い（きらい）, the copula だ can be used before とか, though it is often omitted in casual speech.

  4. 明日は雨だとか聞きましたが、本当ですか。

    I heard something like it's going to rain tomorrow; is that true?

    Word by Word: Tomorrow as-for rain is such-as heard but, truth is-it?

    Here とか is used to report hearsay or a rumor the speaker heard, making the information sound slightly less certain.

  5. 休みの日に、テニスとかをします。

    On my days off, I play tennis and things like that.

    Word by Word: Off-day on-as-for, tennis such-as (object) do.

    Using a single とか makes the statement less specific, implying tennis is just one example of what the speaker does.

  6. 「何か飲む？」「お茶とか？」

    "Want something to drink?" "Tea or something?"

    Word by Word: Something drink? Tea such-as?

    In casual conversation, とか is often used at the end of a phrase to suggest an example or to sound less direct.

Common Mistakes

  • Using とか in formal essays or business letters.

    この町には古いお寺とか神社とかが多いです。
    この町には古いお寺や神社などが多いです。

    とか is primarily a spoken, casual particle. In formal writing, use や or など instead.

  • Confusing とか with the exhaustive particle と.

    家族は父とか母です。
    家族は父と母です。

    If you are listing your entire family, you must use と. Using とか implies you have other parents you aren't mentioning, which sounds strange.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

とかLevel 2Listing Examples

Learn This First

To understand とか, you should first be comfortable with basic noun-linking particles. You need to know how to list items exhaustively using 'と' and how to list them non-exhaustively using 'や'. Since 'とか' is a combination of 'と' and 'か', understanding the individual functions of these particles helps clarify why 'とか' is used for casual, non-exhaustive examples.

Words in This Pattern