- Particles
や、や、や
NikoSpeed lesson, go!
Aside from と, there's another particle that means "and:" や.
So, you could say:
パスタとサラダを食べました。
パスタ と サラダ を たべました。
I ate pasta and salad.
...or you could say:
パスタやサラダを食べました。
パスタ や サラダ を たべました。
I ate pasta and salad (among other things).
These two particles are not identical. There are two major differences:
1) や implies an unfinished list of things, whereas と implies a complete list of things. For the above sentences, for example, the version with と implies that the speaker only ate pasta and salad. The version with や implies that other foods were eaten in addition to pasta and salad.
2) や is not typically used in casual speech. When speaking casual Japanese, use とか instead of や：
浅草とか鎌倉に行きたい。
あさくさ とか かまくら に いきたい。
I want to go to Asakusa, Kamakura, and so on.
That's all!
You'll see these a lot in the future, so don't worry if that didn't feel in-depth enough for you.
Niko
