たり
also: だり
Meanings
doing A and B; A-ing and B-ing; alternating or listing actions
Used in the pattern 〜たり〜たり, often followed by する, to list representative or alternating actions and states rather than an exhaustive sequence.
On weekends I spend time doing things like watching movies and reading books.
A child is going back and forth in the hallway.
doing things like ...; such as doing ...
A single 〜たり, especially in 〜たりする or 〜たりしない, presents the action as one example among possible things.
Please don't do things like making loud noises in the middle of the night.
commanding form with repeated verb
A special sentence-final 〜たり〜たり pattern with a repeated verb stem, described as expressing a command. This is not the ordinary modern way to give commands.
“Iki-tari iki-tari” is explained as a special form commanding someone to go.
copula, auxiliary verb, irregular -ru verb (-ri ending)
Only with reading たり
Archaic copular たり used after a noun, from とあり. The related attributive form たる is more familiar in set literary-style expressions.
See also: たる
In classical Japanese, “kare wa ō tari” means “he is a king.”
auxiliary verb, irregular -ru verb (-ri ending)
have done; be in a resulting state; continue to be doing
Only with reading たり
Archaic auxiliary たり used after a verb stem, from 〜てあり, indicating completion or a continuing/resulting state.
In classical Japanese, “hana saki tari” means “the flowers are in bloom” or “the flowers have bloomed.”
Usage patterns
- 〈動詞〉たり〈動詞〉たりするto do things like A and B (alternating or representative actions)
On my days off, I do things like read books and listen to music.
- 〈動詞〉たりするto sometimes do things like ...
He sometimes does things like skip work.