GrammarJLPT N5
→ and then
And; And then (Sentence Connector)
JLPT N5ConjunctionNeutral
そして is one of the most fundamental conjunctions in Japanese, used to connect two sentences in a natural sequence. It can express simple addition ("and") or temporal sequence ("and then"), linking events, actions, or descriptions that follow one another. Unlike the て-form of verbs, which connects clauses within a single sentence, そして sits at the beginning of a new sentence or independent clause and gives the listener a sense of continuation or progression. It is similar to それから, which more strongly emphasizes chronological order ("after that"), and それで, which implies a cause-and-effect relationship ("and so / therefore"). そして is more general and neutral than both of these, making it appropriate in casual conversation, formal writing, speeches, and storytelling alike. It is almost always written in kana.
Functions
#1 Connecting additional information
Structure
Sentence A。そして Sentence B。
彼は やさしい。そして おもしろい。
Here そして simply adds a second piece of information about the same subject. There is no strong sense of time order; the speaker is listing qualities. This additive use of そして works much like the English word "and" when connecting two independent statements. It gives the second sentence a feeling of natural continuation from the first.He is kind. And he is funny.
Structures
- Sentence connector
- Sentence A。 + そして + Sentence B。
Common mistakes
A common mistake is using そして to connect two clauses within the same sentence the way "and" works in English; in Japanese, the て-form or particles like と handle intra-sentence connections, while そして connects separate sentences or independent clauses. Another frequent error is confusing そして with それで; それで implies that the first event caused the second ("and so / therefore"), whereas そして does not carry that causal meaning. Learners also sometimes overuse そして in every sentence of a paragraph, which sounds repetitive and unnatural in Japanese; varying connectors with それから, また, or simply using the て-form produces much more natural writing and speech.
Related
それからそれでまたそうしてて (conjunction)