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JLPT N3Connectives

～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').

Grammar path · 練習

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A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 97 · CONNECTIVES

Structure · 形

[Noun] + やら + [Noun] + やら; [Verb/adj plain form] + やら + [Verb/adj plain form] + やら

Examples · 例文

  • 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

Usage notes · 注意

  • 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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