～やら～やら — What With This And That
Lists two representative examples out of many to suggest a jumble of things, often with a nuance of being troubled, busy, or overwhelmed. It can pair nouns ('what with A and B and so on') or contrasting states ('whether A or B, I'm not sure').
Structure
[Noun] + やら + [Noun] + やら; [Verb/adj plain form] + やら + [Verb/adj plain form] + やら
Examples
引っ越しの準備で、掃除やら荷造りやらで忙しい。
Hikkoshi no junbi de, souji yara nizukuri yara de isogashii.
With moving preparations, what with cleaning and packing, I'm swamped.
掃除やら + 荷造りやら = listing tiring tasks among many
嬉しいやら恥ずかしいやら、複雑な気持ちだった。
Ureshii yara hazukashii yara, fukuzatsu na kimochi datta.
What with being happy and embarrassed, I had mixed feelings.
嬉しいやら + 恥ずかしいやら = contrasting emotions jumbled together
彼が来るのやら来ないのやら、さっぱり分からない。
Kare ga kuru no yara konai no yara, sappari wakaranai.
Whether he's coming or not, I have no idea.
来るのやら + 来ないのやら = uncertainty between two possibilities
• Nuance: trouble, busyness, or confusion — not neutral listing. • Can join opposite states to show uncertainty (来るやら来ないやら). • More emotional/colloquial than と or や for listing.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～やら～やら is tested against.
vs とか～とか
やら～やら adds a feeling of being troubled/overwhelmed by the jumble; ～とか～とか is a neutral casual 'things like A and B'.
vs も～ば～も
やら～やら suggests a chaotic pile of things bothering the speaker; ～も～ば～も lists parallel facts more evenly, often admiringly.
More connectives
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