～たり～たりする

You might remember from a previous lesson that you can connect actions using the て-form, like this:

大坂おおさかで買かい物ものをして、晩ばんご飯はんを食たべます。
➡️ I will do some shopping and eat dinner in Osaka.

This means you’ll do both things, in that order, and possibly only those things.

But what if you want to say “I’ll do things like shop and eat dinner — maybe more, maybe not in that order”?

That’s where today’s grammar point ～たり～たりする comes in!

🧱 What is it?

Use ～たり～たりする when you want to say you do this, that, and maybe other stuff too, without giving a strict order or complete list.

Think:
➡️ “For example…”
➡️ “Things like…”
➡️ “Do such things as…”

🛠 Structure

Verb (short past) + り、Verb (short past) + り + する

• Use the short past (plain past) form of the verb, e.g., 食べるたべるtaberu → 食べたたべたtabeta

• Add り to each verb

• Finish with する (or its conjugated form to match the tense)

🗣 Examples

✅ Present Tense Example

• 毎朝まいあさ、飲のんだり、読よんだりします。
• Every morning, I do things like drink coffee and read the newspaper.

✅ Past Tense Example

• 昨日きのうは映画えいがを見みたり、カフェに行いったりしました。
• Yesterday, I did things like watch a movie and go to a café.

✅ With Preferences

• 絵えを描かいたり、音楽おんがくを聴きいたりするのが好すきです。
• I like doing things like drawing and listening to music.

🧠 Notes on Usage

1. Not a complete list

Use ～たり～たりする to avoid implying you’re naming all the activities you did. It’s perfect when you want to say “such things as…”

• ❌ テニスをして、スキーをしました。
  (Implies you only did tennis and skiing.)

• ✅ テニスをしたり、スキーをしたりしました。
  (Implies you did those and maybe other activities.)

2. Flexible tense

Change the する at the end to control the sentence tense:

• [～たり～たりします] for present/future
• [～たり～たりしました] for past
• [～たり～たりしたい] for want to do
• [～たり～たりするのが好き] for preferences

🧠 Real-Life Notes & Tips

✅ 1. No strict order

You’re not saying you did A then B. You’re just listing examples.

✅ 2. Usually 2 examples is enough

You don’t need to say たり たり たり たり…

✅ 3. Use with 好き／たい／よく～する

• ～するのが好すき
• ～したい
• ～することが多おおい

料理りょうりしたり、映画えいがを見みたりするのが好すき。
→ I like things like cooking and watching movies.