～やら～やら

• Reading: やら
• Romaji: yara ~ yara
• Formation: Noun / Verb dict. form / い-Adj + やら + Noun / Verb dict. form / い-Adj + やら

Meaning

A structure meaning 'things like ~ and ~,' used to list examples of things, events, or actions — often with a sense of being overwhelmed, uncertain, or unable to sort through everything clearly.

～やら～やら presents a non-exhaustive list, implying that there are other similar items beyond what is mentioned. Compared to ～たり～たり, which neutrally lists actions, ～やら～やら carries an emotional undertone — typically confusion, being flustered, or feeling overwhelmed by the quantity or variety. It can list nouns, verbs (dictionary form), or い-adjectives. The speaker often cannot or does not want to enumerate everything, so they give representative samples. In some contexts, it conveys that the speaker is unsure which of the listed items is the actual case (e.g., 嬉しいやら悲しいやら — not sure whether to feel happy or sad).

Examples

1. 引っ越しの準備で、荷造りやら手続きやらに追われている。 With moving preparations, I'm swamped with packing and paperwork and such.
2. 嬉しいやら恥ずかしいやら、何と言っていいかわからなかった。 I was so happy and so embarrassed that I didn't know what to say.
3. 子供が泣くやら騒ぐやらで、レストランで食事どころではなかった。 The children were crying and making a fuss, so a restaurant meal was out of the question.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, written, narrative

Tone: overwhelmed

Do Say

• 年末は大掃除やら年賀状やらで慌ただしい。
• 合格の知らせに、驚くやら喜ぶやらで涙が出た。
• 出張の準備でパスポートやらビザやら、確認すべきものが多い。

Don't Say

• 朝ごはんにパンやら食べた。(Using やら only once — the pattern requires at least two items) → 朝ごはんにパンやら卵やら、あれこれ食べた。
• りんごやらみかんやらを買いました。(Using やら for a calm, ordinary shopping list without any sense of overwhelm) → りんごやらみかんやら山ほど買い込んでしまった。

Origin & History

やら is a classical particle expressing uncertainty or enumeration, related to the interrogative particle や. The doubled やら～やら pattern developed as a way to list items with an implication of vagueness or excess.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal