61734
I read that `-たり form` can either be translated as " **and** " or " **or** ",
and that it indicates **no particular chronological order**.

My question is, **how do you know when which is which?**

For example, I came across these sentences:

>   * シャワーをあびたり、晩{ばん}ご飯{はん}を食{た}べたりします。
>

>
> _I take a shower **or** I have dinner._
>
>   * 夏{なつ}にはウインドサーフィンをしたり、サーフィンをしたりします。
>

>
> _In summer, I do windsurfing **and** surf._

Why were they not translated as:

> _I take a shower **and** I have dinner._
>
> _In summer I do windsurfing **or** surf._

Does that have something to do with use `-て form` for listing actions rather
than `-たり form`?
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2018-09-24T06:44:50.470
61709
2018-09-25T12:26:38.500
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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30812
question
grammar
How to know how to translate -たり form
You can translate it as “do things like windsurfing or surfing” but the
context generally communicates the meaning. “We filled the long summer months
of our childhood with surfing, hiking, and bonfires on the beach” is the kind
of thing that wd get translated with 〜たり forms in Japanese.

Remember, real language has context. Single-sentence examples in textbooks are
not real language.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-25T12:26:38.500
61734
2018-09-25T12:26:38.500
9306
61709
answer