言What you think and know
Saying and quoting
と reports what someone said or thought. In casual speech it becomes って, which also introduces topics.
Reporting speech
Direct or indirect
Tanaka said, “I'll go.”
Exact words, in Japanese quotation marks.
Tanaka said they'd go.
Reported, in plain form.
Not just speech
と after any thought or sound
I think it'll rain tomorrow.
I heard he'd come soon.
A dog's going woof, woof.
Sound words use と too.
I walk slowly.
Naming and describing
という
I watched a movie called “Summer Sea.”
“Called” or “named”.
I heard the story that he's coming.
Spells out the content of 話, ニュース, 知らせ and so on.
Casual: って
It replaces と
Tanaka says they're not coming.
言っている can be left out.
I thought it was amazing.
Introducing a topic
って and と言えば
Japanese is hard, isn't it?
Casual and emotional, like は.
Speaking of Kyoto, its temples are famous.
Picks up a topic just mentioned.
Even more casual
って言えば and ったら
Speaking of Kyoto, it must be the season for autumn leaves.
The casual と言えば: you pick up what someone just said.
Honestly, that dog of ours is chewing shoes again.
ったら points at a noun with fond exasperation.
Grammar notes
Plain form, and です changes
Before と in indirect speech, use the plain form: 学生だと言いました. Only direct quotes keep the original wording. In writing, sentence-ending という can mean “it's said that”. Compare って for hearsay: it's more casual than そうだ.
Check yourself
What is and と or って doing?
Your turn
と or って?
The manager said they'd come tomorrow.
Say it yourself
Passing on a message
Your coworker asks about Sato. Sato said they'd be late, and you think they'll get here at ten. Also mention a restaurant called Hana.
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