Now let's expand your knowledge about the YA particle In japanese!
The main function of the particle ya is simply creating lists of japanese nouns. That way, we can name a set of things that exist somewhere or things that we are going to do.
At this point, many readers may be remembering the Japanese particle I'm, which also creates lists of Japanese nouns.
The YA particle in Japanese
The basic difference between these two particles is the fact that the particle I'm is used to create an exhaustive list of nouns, obligatorily mentioning all elements.
On the other hand, the particle ya é usada para criar uma lista “não-exaustiva” de substantivos, onde não é necessário mencionar todos os elementos.
Creating noun lists with the YA particle
To create a noun list with the particle ya, basta adicionar a partícula depois de cada substantivo. Como se trata de uma lista “não-exaustiva”, não é necessário mencionar todos os elementos.
Example:
パンやたまごやミルクを買いました。
I bought bread, eggs, milk and so on. / I bought bread, eggs and milk among other things.
Note that the particle ya se transforma em vírgulas quando traduzida para português. Além disso, em traduções da língua japonesa para português, é comum adicionar palavras como “e etc” ou “entre outras coisas” no final da lista de palavras.
This is because the lists with the particle ya it does not mention all the elements and implies that there are others not mentioned in the sentence.
Using etc explicitly in noun lists
In some japanese phrases, it is common to find the particle swim after a list of Japanese words using the particle ya. In this case the particle swim funciona como nosso “etc” ou “…” no final das frases, indicando explicitamente que existem mais itens que não foram mencionados na lista de palavras.
Example:
テーブルの上にえんぴつや日本語の本やおすしなどがあります。
On the table there are pencils, Japanese book, sushi and etc.
Indicating that one action happens immediately after another
when the particle ya appears after a japanese verb in dictionary form, it may indicate that the next action took place right after the action described above. In cases like this, the particle ya pode ser traduzida como “no momento em que”, “tão logo”, “assim que”, “no exato momento em que” ou qualquer outra coisa do gênero.
Examples:
彼女は、僕の姿を見るや、怒りを爆発させた。
In the moment that she saw me, started having a tantrum.
私を見るや、彼女は笑顔で挨拶をして。
As soon as she saw me, greeted me with a smile.
Conclusion
despite the particle ya have other functions, the most basic functions are described above. Over time, I'll add more content to these articles, talking a little more about each of these Japanese particles.