49043
I think I've only seen this usage in anime and manga so not sure how common it
is in real life. Sometimes に seems to be used as "and", usually (always?) with
people, e.g. something like:

```

    田中に黒田じゃないか!
    Well, if it isn't Tanaka and Kuroda!
    
```

Is this one of the inherent (but uncommon) meaning of に, some remnant of old
grammar like が/の reversal, or something else altogether?
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2017-07-04T19:24:06.007
49038
2017-07-05T00:53:43.947
3295
question
grammar particle-に
why に can mean "and"?
This usage of に is not limited to people.

I think に expresses a combination or a meaningful set rather than a simple
list. For example, 「ご飯に納豆。」 by itself can imply "Natto goes well with (cooked)
rice", whereas 「ご飯と納豆。」 is simply "(It's) rice and natto." In other words,
saying に implies the list is somehow incomplete without the remaining unsaid
part. In 田中に黒田's case, the sentence slightly emphasizes the fact they came in
a twosome, which might be strange or surprising to the speaker. Maybe it's
like slightly adding the nuance of "what's more" in English.

I don't think this usage of に is particularly archaic. It sounds rhythmical
and emphatic, though. [This
construction](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/24847/5010) used to
emphasize a verb may be relevant.
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2017-07-05T00:53:43.947
49043
2017-07-05T00:53:43.947
5010
49038
answer