GrammarJLPT N5
→ quotation marker
と – Quotation Marker
JLPT N5ParticleNeutral
The particle と is used to mark the content of speech, thought, or other communicative acts. It functions as a quotation marker, enclosing what someone said, thought, asked, or named. The quoted content comes before と, and the verb describing the communicative act (such as 言う 'to say,' 思う 'to think,' 聞く 'to ask/hear,' or 書く 'to write') comes after it. Both direct quotes (exact words) and indirect quotes (paraphrased content) can be marked with と. In casual spoken Japanese, と is often replaced by って, but と remains the standard neutral form used across registers. Unlike English, Japanese does not require quotation marks grammatically; the particle と itself signals where the quoted content ends and the main clause begins. This makes と one of the most essential particles for reporting speech and expressing thoughts in Japanese.
Functions
#1 Quoting speech (what someone said)
Structure
「Quoted speech」+ と + 言う／話す
田中さんは「おはよう」と言いました。
Here と marks the exact words that Tanaka said. The quoted content「おはよう」appears before と, and the verb of speech 言いました follows after it. This is a direct quotation where the speaker's original words are preserved. The particle と acts as the boundary between the quoted material and the reporting verb, clearly indicating that everything before と is what was spoken.Tanaka said, 'Good morning.'
Structures
- General pattern
- Quoted content + と + verb of communication/thought
Common mistakes
A very common mistake is using polite forms like です or ます inside the quoted clause before と when paraphrasing indirectly. For example, saying 雨ですと思います instead of the correct 雨だと思います. Indirect quoted content should generally use plain form. Another frequent error is confusing と with って; while って is a casual equivalent of と, using って in formal writing or polite speech sounds too informal. Learners also sometimes omit と entirely when translating from English, since English uses word order and 'that' clauses differently. Finally, beginners may confuse this quotation と with the conditional と or the 'and' と used to connect nouns; context and the verb that follows (言う, 思う, 聞く, etc.) are key to recognizing the quotation use.
Related
ってというようにと思うと言う