How to use 〜たり〜たり [tari tari] and 〜し [shi] in Japanese?

The 〜たり[tari] form of a verb is just the plain past tense (-ta form) followed by り[ri].

Have a look!

Remember that while the past tense of many verbs will end in 〜た[ta], some u-verbs will end in だ[da] instead! This means that the 〜たり[-tari] ending will be 〜だり[-dari], when it’s attached to certain verbs!

You can also form negative 〜たり[-tari] forms. To do this, just attach り[ri] to the negative -ta form. This will always result in the ending 〜なかったり[nakattari].

〜たり〜たり[tari tari] is used to create an inexhaustive list of actions. This means that you’re not mentioning every action that could go on the list. The actions you list also didn’t necessarily happen in the exact order you’re listing them.

• 友達と泳いだり、砂浜でバレーをしたりしました。

  Tomodachi to oyoidari, sunahama de barē o shitari shimashita.

  I went did (things like) swimming with my friends and playing volleyball on the beach.

• パリでエッフェル塔を見たり、買い物をしたりしました。

  Pari de Efferutō o mitari, kaimono o shitari shimashita.

  In Paris, I did (things like) see the Eiffel Tower and go shopping.

This makes lists with 〜たり〜たり[tari tari] different from lists of actions created using the -te form. When you use 〜て (te) as a linker, your list presents everything that happened in the order it took place.

The actions you list with 〜たり〜たり[tari tari] should always be providing examples of the same sort of action. We don’t usually use this structure for actions representing different types of activities.

It’s grammatically possible to use as many 〜たり[tari] verbs as you want in a list, but long lists will usually sound awkward. It’s best to keep it to two actions per list in writing, though in speech, this can usually be stretched to three. If you want to give more examples than that, it’s best to just start a new sentence.

• ❓飛行機の中で寝たり、本を読んだり、ゲームをしたり、雲を見たりするのが好きです。

  Hikōki no naka de netari, hon o yondari, gēmu o shitari, kumo o mitari suru no ga suki desu.

  On planes, I like to do things like sleep, read books, play video games, and watch the clouds.

  → This is grammatical but sounds forced and awkward.

• ✅飛行機の中で寝たり、雲を見たりするのが好きです。読書したり、ゲームしたりするのも好きです。

  Hikōki no naka de netari, kumo o mitari suru no ga suki desu. Dokusho shitari, gēmu shitari suru no mo suki desu.

  On planes, I like to do things like sleep and watch the clouds. I also like reading and playing games.

  → This sounds much more natural (even in English!)

In casual speech, you may not use every element of the sentence structure we discussed above. There are two ways this structure can be shortened:

• Only one 〜たり[tari]

  If you want to give only one example, but imply that other things were happening as well, you can use only one 〜たり[tari] in your sentence. For example:

  みんな元気に話したりしている。

  Min’na genki ni hanashitari shite iru.

  Everyone’s talking (and also doing other things) excitedly.

  Using the 〜たり[tari] form, here, implies that other related activities were happening as well. Notice, though, that this 〜たり[tari] form is still followed by a form of する[suru]!

• Leaving out する[suru]

  If you want to to leave a sentence a little unfinished, like you’re trailing off at the end of a list of examples, you can use your 〜たり[tari] forms, but leave out する[suru].

  あの子は全く不思議ですね。いつも泣いたり笑ったり…

  Ano ko wa mattaku fushigi desu ne. Itsumo naitari warattari…

  That child is a complete mystery to me, always crying or laughing…

  Here, you’re really just leaving the sentence unfinished and letting your listener fill in the blanks. If you were to complete the sentence it might end something like this:

  …いつも泣いたり笑ったりして、どうすればいいかわかりません。

  …Itsumo naitari warattari shite, dō sureba ii ka wakarimasen.

  …always crying or laughing, I don’t know what to do about it.

You can use the a negative 〜たり[tari] form, ending in 〜なかったり[nakattari], to list an example of an action that did not happen.

Most often, you’ll see the same verb used first in its positive 〜たり[tari] form, then in its negative 〜たり[tari] form. This roughly means, “there are times when this happens… and also times when it doesn’t.”

Usually, you won’t use two verbs ending 〜なかったり[nakattari] in the same list, though. If you want to list examples of actions that didn’t happen, it’s better to make する[suru] negative, then use the positive 〜たり[tari] form for each action instead.

• negative 〜たりpositive verb

  ❌誠さんは最近電話に出なかったり、イベントに来なかったりしているよね。

  Makoto-san wa saikin denwa ni denakattari, ibento ni konakattari shite iru yo ne.

  Lately Makoto hasn’t been doing things like answering the phone and coming to events.

• positive 〜たりnegative verb

  ✅ 誠さんは最近電話に出たり、イベントに来たりしていないよね。

  Makoto-san wa saikin denwa ni detari, ibento ni kitari shiteinai yo ne.

  Lately Makoto hasn’t been answering the phone or coming to events.

Both adjective sand nouns can be used with 〜たり[tari]. Most often, you will hear 〜たり〜たり[tari tari] applied to a pair of adjectives or nouns with opposite or opposing meanings. Much like we saw above, these pairs indicate that something is sometimes one way and sometimes a different way.

The 〜たり[tari] form of a noun or adjective is also formed by adding り[ri] to the -ta form.

Let’s look at some examples!

• 近くのイタリア料理店は味がよかったりよくなかったりするので、あまり行かない。

  Chikaku no Itaria ryōriten wa aji ga yokattari yokunakattari suru no de, amari ikanai.

  The food at the nearby Italian restaurant is sometimes good and sometimes not (good), so I don’t go there often.

• 4月は暑かったり寒かったりしますね。

  Shigatsu wa atsukattari samukattari shimasu ne.

  April is sometimes hot and sometimes cold.

• 掃除の担当は高山さんだったり、原さんだったり…毎週変わります。

  Sōji no tantō wa Takayama-san dattari, Hara-san dattari… maishū kawarimasu.

  Sometimes Mr. Takayama is in charge of cleaning, sometimes it’s Ms. Hara… it changes each week.

The most basic use of 〜し[shi] is as a linker between facts. This particle comes between the two facts and places a little emphasis on the second one. It can be added after the plain form of a verb, adjective, or noun. It can also follow a polite form, but this is only done in very formal situations.

When a single 〜し[shi] is used on its own, the translation is most like “A (is true) and also B.”

To be more emphatic, you can also add the particle も[mo] before the predicates (verb, adjective, or noun) that 〜し[shi] links. This is translated more like “not only… but also…”.

• 宴会ではゲームもするし、カラオケもあります

  Enkai de wa geemu mo suru shi, karaoke mo arimasu.

  We’ll not only play games but also sing karaoke at the party.

• 今年は家も買ったし、海外旅行にも行った

  Kotoshi wa ie mo katta shi, kaigairyokō ni mo itta.

  This year, we not only bought a house but also went traveling abroad.

You can also use も[mo] before just one of the predicates. This just sounds a little less emphatic.

You can also use 〜し[shi] to list some but not all of the contributing factors or reasons for a given situation. In a list like this, each reason in the list is followed by 〜し[shi] and by a comma, then the situation being explained comes at the end of the sentence.

Using this structure can soften the tone of an explanation. It’s a less direct form of “because” than から[kara] or ので[no de], and thus more polite, especially in tricky social situations such as when you have to decline an invitation.