～とか (~ and ~, things like ~)

• Reading: とか
• Romaji: toka
• Formation: Noun + とか + Noun + とか / Verb (plain form) + とか + Verb (plain form) + とか

Meaning

A conjunction used to list two or more items, actions, or states as inexhaustive examples. It is more casual than や and implies the speaker is giving a rough, non-exhaustive enumeration.

とか presents items loosely and casually, making it the go-to listing particle in everyday conversation. While や...など is standard and suitable for writing, とか...とか is characteristically spoken and informal. It can list nouns (映画とか音楽とか — movies and music and stuff), verbs (食べたとか飲んだとか — ate and drank and such), and even full clauses. A single とか after one item implies there are other similar items the speaker chooses not to mention. Overuse of とか in formal contexts can sound vague or uncommitted. In some dialects and casual speech, とか replaces traditional quotative と to express hearsay: 田中さんが来るとか — I heard Tanaka is coming, or something like that.

Examples

1. 休みの日は映画を見るとか本を読むとかしている。 On my days off, I do things like watch movies or read books.
2. 旅行には服とか薬とかを持って行った。 I brought things like clothes and medicine on the trip.
3. 週末は友達と遊んだとか買い物に行ったとかした。 On the weekend, I did things like hanging out with friends and going shopping.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, everyday

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 週末は料理するとか掃除するとかで忙しかった。
• コーヒーとか紅茶とか、何か温かいものが飲みたい。
• 趣味はギターとか歌とかです。

Don't Say

• 本日の議題は予算とか人事とかです。(とか is too casual for formal meetings — use や...など) → 本日の議題は予算や人事などです。
• 映画とか見た。(A single とか without another item can sound overly vague in some contexts — add at least one more example or use など) → 映画とかドラマとかを見た。

Origin & History

Derived from the quotative particle と combined with か (question/uncertainty marker), originally conveying a sense of 'something like' or 'or something.' This combination became a casual listing particle in modern colloquial Japanese.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal