Quotation Particle と in Japanese

In Brief

Put と after the words or idea being quoted, then add a verb such as 言う “say,” 思う “think,” or 聞く “hear”: 行くと言いました means “He said he would go.” In an indirect quotation, the clause before と normally uses the plain form (the basic, non-です/ます form): 明日は雨だと思います “I think it will rain tomorrow.”

Overview

The particle と marks quoted content. That content may be someone’s exact words, a reported statement, a thought, an opinion, or information you heard. English handles these ideas in several ways: quotation marks, a clause beginning with “that,” or simply a clause after “think.” Japanese gives them a common structure by placing と after the quoted material.

This pattern is introduced at A2 because it builds directly on plain forms. A clause (a group of words that works like a small sentence) comes before と, and a reporting or thinking verb comes after it. Japanese therefore presents the content first and identifies the kind of report afterward: [content] + と + [say/think/hear].

For an English-speaking learner, the word order can initially feel backward. Do not search for one English word that always translates と. Depending on the sentence, it may correspond to “that,” quotation marks, or nothing at all. Its reliable job is to mark the boundary of the quoted content.

How It Works

The core pattern

Function	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Direct quotation	「exact words」と言う	「行きます」と言いました。	He said, “I’ll go.”
Reported statement	plain clause + と言う	行くと言いました。	He said that he would go.
Thought or opinion	plain clause + と思う	難しいと思います。	I think it is difficult.
Hearsay	plain clause + と聞く	来月帰ると聞きました。	I heard that they will return next month.

The final verb carries the sentence’s tense and politeness. For example, 言いました is polite past, while 言っていません is polite negative. The clause before と is normally plain even when the final verb is polite.

Forms before と

Use the same plain forms that appear in ordinary casual sentences. With nouns and な-adjectives, affirmative non-past statements normally include だ.

Type	Affirmative non-past	Negative non-past	Affirmative past	Negative past
Verb	行くと	行かないと	行ったと	行かなかったと
い-adjective	高いと	高くないと	高かったと	高くなかったと
な-adjective	静かだと	静かではないと	静かだったと	静かではなかったと
Noun	先生だと	先生ではないと	先生だったと	先生ではなかったと

This gives patterns such as この店は高いと思います “I think this shop is expensive” and 田中さんは先生だと聞きました “I heard that Mr. Tanaka is a teacher.” A frequent beginner error is to omit だ in affirmative noun and な-adjective clauses.

The polite forms です and ます can occur inside an exact direct quotation because they are part of the original speaker’s words: 「明日は休みです」と言いました. For an ordinary indirect report, however, use 明日は休みだと言いました.

Direct and indirect quotation

A direct quotation reproduces the wording as spoken or written. Japanese normally encloses it in corner brackets 「 」:

山田さんは「あとで電話します」と言いました。
“Yamada said, ‘I’ll call later.’”

An indirect quotation reports the content without claiming to reproduce every word:

山田さんはあとで電話すると言いました。
“Yamada said that he would call later.”

Japanese does not apply the automatic tense backshift familiar from formal English reported speech. If the reported event is still later than the original statement, 電話する may remain non-past even though 言いました is past. Choose the form inside the quote according to when that event occurs in the quoted situation, not simply according to the tense of the final verb.

Common verbs after と

Verb	Basic meaning in this pattern	Typical use
言う（いう）	say	speech and statements
思う（おもう）	think	opinions, judgments, intentions
聞く（きく）	hear	information learned from someone
書く（かく）	write	written words or notices
答える（こたえる）	answer	the content of a reply

With 聞く, particles help distinguish meanings. おいしいと聞きました means “I heard that it is delicious.” To mark the person you ask, Japanese commonly uses 人に聞く: 先生に聞きました “I asked the teacher.” A quoted question can also be followed by 聞く, as in 「大丈夫ですか」と聞きました “I asked, ‘Are you all right?’”

Questions and quoted questions

In 何と言いましたか, 何 means “what,” and the sentence asks what words were said: “What did you say?” The form is 何 + と + 言う.

When the quotation itself is a question, keep the question inside the quoted material:

田中さんは「何時に始まりますか」と聞きました。
“Tanaka asked, ‘What time does it start?’”

In writing, か belongs to the quoted question; と then marks the entire quotation.

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
「行く」と言いました。	He said, “I’ll go.”	Exact words shown as a direct quotation
兄は来年日本へ行くと言いました。	My older brother said that he would go to Japan next year.	Plain verb before と
明日は雨だと思います。	I think it will rain tomorrow.	Noun 雨 takes だ before と
この本は面白いと思います。	I think this book is interesting.	Plain い-adjective
あの町は静かだと思いました。	I thought that town was quiet.	な-adjective takes だ
田中さんは今日は来ないと言っていました。	Tanaka said that they were not coming today.	Negative plain form; 言っていました reports an earlier statement
試験は難しくなかったと聞きました。	I heard the exam was not difficult.	Past negative い-adjective
この店のケーキはおいしいと聞きました。	I heard that this shop’s cakes are delicious.	Hearsay with 聞く
「ここで写真を撮らないでください」と書いてあります。	It says, “Please do not take photos here.”	Written wording quoted directly
何と言いましたか。	What did you say?	何 asks for the quoted content
母は「何時に帰るの」と聞きました。	My mother asked, “What time are you coming home?”	A direct quoted question
私はもう一度やってみようと思います。	I think I’ll try it once more.	Volitional form + と思う expresses an intention
彼はその映画が好きではないと言いました。	He said that he did not like that film.	Negative な-adjective pattern
会議は三時に終わったと聞きました。	I heard that the meeting ended at three.	Past event inside the report

Japanese often leaves out a subject that is clear from context. 難しいと思います usually presents the speaker’s own view: “I think it is difficult.” English requires “I,” but Japanese does not need 私は unless contrast or clarity calls for it.

Common Mistakes

Using a polite form in an ordinary indirect quote

• Wrong: 来ますと言いました。
• Right: 来ると言いました。
• Why: The reporting verb can be polite, but an indirect quoted clause normally uses the plain form. 「来ます」と言いました is correct if 来ます reproduces the speaker’s exact polite words.

Dropping だ after a noun or な-adjective

• Wrong: 明日は休みと思います。
• Right: 明日は休みだと思います。
• Why: An affirmative non-past noun statement needs だ before quotation と. The same applies to a な-adjective: 便利だと思います.

Putting と before the quoted content

• Wrong: と明日は雨だ思います。
• Right: 明日は雨だと思います。
• Why: と closes the quoted clause. Japanese puts the whole idea before the marker.

Treating 聞く as unambiguously “ask”

• Misleading: おいしいと聞きました = “I asked that it was delicious.”
• Right meaning: おいしいと聞きました。 = “I heard that it is delicious.”
• Why: A statement followed by と聞く normally reports information heard. When asking a person, mark that person with に, or quote an actual question.

Copying English tense backshift mechanically

• Awkward reasoning: Changing every non-past form to past merely because 言いました is past.
• Natural: 来週来ると言いました。
• Meaning: “They said they would come next week.”
• Why: 来る remains non-past because the coming is later from the viewpoint of the statement.

Confusing quotation と with conditional と

• Quotation: 雨だと思います。 — “I think it will rain.”
• Conditional: 雨が降ると、道がぬれます。 — “When it rains, the road gets wet.”
• Why: The forms look identical, but quotation と is selected by a verb such as 思う or 言う. Conditional と links an event to its regular or automatic result.

Usage Notes

言いました and 言っていました

Both can report speech, but their focus differs. 言いました presents the act of saying as a completed event. 言っていました often reports what someone had said or was saying and is very common when passing that message on: 先生は明日テストがあると言っていました “The teacher said there would be a test tomorrow.” The latter does not have to mean that the person literally kept repeating it.

思います and 思っています

と思います commonly gives the speaker’s current judgment: いいと思います “I think it’s good.” と思っています can describe an idea or intention held over time: 来年留学しようと思っています “I’m planning/thinking of studying abroad next year.” It is also useful for another person’s belief when context makes that person clear, although Japanese often prefers forms that avoid claiming direct access to someone else’s private thoughts.

Quotation marks and punctuation

Japanese direct quotations use 「 」, not English-style quotation marks. A Japanese question mark is possible in informal modern writing, but grammatical か is often enough in formal prose. In either case, と follows the closing bracket: 「本当ですか」と聞きました.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following forms at A2, but they are frequent extensions of the same quotation system.

Colloquial って

In conversation, って often replaces quotation と or という:

• 明日は休みだって。 — “I heard tomorrow is a day off.”
• 行かないって言ってた。 — “They said they weren’t going.”
• 田中さんって人 — “a person called Tanaka”

This is natural in casual speech but should not replace と everywhere in formal writing.

という for names, definitions, and descriptions

X という Y identifies Y by a quoted name or description:

• 「さくら」という店 — “a shop called Sakura”
• 日本では春に桜が咲くという話を聞きました。 — “I heard that cherry blossoms bloom in spring in Japan.”

Here, という connects the quoted content to a noun. It develops from と + 言う but functions as a highly productive fixed pattern.

と before other reporting expressions

Formal writing uses quotation と with verbs and expressions beyond the beginner set: と答える “answer that,” と説明する “explain that,” と発表する “announce that,” and と考える “consider/think that.” The more formal との can connect reported information to a noun, as in 中止するとの連絡 “a notice that it will be cancelled.” These patterns lead into advanced indirect speech.

Intention with the volitional form

A verb’s volitional form (a form expressing “let’s” or “I will”) plus と思う expresses a decision or intention:

• 今日は早く寝ようと思います。 — “I think I’ll go to bed early today.”
• 日本語をもっと勉強しようと思っています。 — “I’m planning to study more Japanese.”

This is not simply an opinion about a fact. The quoted content represents what the speaker is saying internally to themself.

Practice Tips

1. Build four versions of one report. Start with 行く, then change it to 行かない, 行った, and 行かなかった before と言いました. This makes the quoted clause feel independent from the reporting verb.
2. Sort what you hear by source. Use と思います for your own view, と言っていました for someone’s reported words, and と聞きました for information whose source is less central.
3. Convert dialogue into reports. Take a short line such as 「明日は忙しいです」 and report it as 明日は忙しいと言いました. Notice that です disappears while the meaning remains polite through 言いました.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Plain/Dictionary Form — supplies the verb, adjective, and noun forms used before quotation と.
• Next step: Indirect Speech Patterns — develops more formal and nuanced ways to attribute statements and information.