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1) 私は果物、いちご **や** メロン **とか** が好きです。

2) 私は果物、いちご **とか** メロン **とか** が好きです。

3) 私は果物、いちご **や** メロンが好きです

4) 私は果物、いちご **とか** メロンが好きです。

I know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual and 3)
is more formal (if there is any other difference, tell me please). As for 4),
I don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a sentence, or
using two like in 2). And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3)
and 4)? I don't understand this combination of や and とか in the same sentence.

Could you please help me with that?
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2016-07-01T11:51:09.660
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2016-07-02T11:55:05.013
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question
grammar word-choice particles
AやBとか, AとかBとか, AやB, AとかB
First, I would have to mention this even though it is not part of your
question. The 「[私]{わたし}は[果物]{くだもの}、」 part at the beginning sounds very
unnatural and almost ungrammatical even in the context of very casual speech.

It would need to be changed to:

「果物（で）は、」

「（私は）果物の中で（or 中では）」 ← The personal pronoun is not necessary. It sounds more
natural without.

> I know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual

True. 「とか」 is already a pretty casual word, and by repeating it, it makes it
even more casual.

> and 3) is more formal

I would not necessarily use the word "formal" here. The phrase "stuff like
strawberries and melons" does not sound "formal", does it?

I would only go so far as to say that 3) sounds "less colloquial" or "less
casual" than 2). In general, one could safely say that 「や」 sounds less casual
than 「とか」, but one should also remember that **_if repeated_** , 「や」 could
sound pretty casual/informal.

> As for 4), I don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a
> sentence, or using two like in 2).

As discussed above, 「とか」 is already quite casual even when it is used once in
a short sentence. The more times you use it in a sentence, the more casual and
colloquial it will sound. It is somewhat analogous to the repeated use of the
word "like" in English by some speakers. You would want to avoid it at all
costs.

> And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3) and 4)?

1) sounds OK and quite natural. It sounds less "sloppy" than 2) and slightly
more casual than 3). (#3 sounds the least casual.) 1) also **_feels_** almost
the same as 4) in terms of casualness (to my Japanese ears).

To nitpick, 1) would suggest more strongly that there are other kinds of fruit
(besides strawberries and melons) that the speaker likes than 4) does.
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2016-07-02T01:19:45.617
36357
2016-07-02T01:19:45.617
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answer
As mentioned in l'électeurさん’s answer, the word 果物 needs to be followed by では
or something like that in order to mean what you really mean.
「私は果物、いちごやメロンが好きです。」 sounds like a cute imaginary character in a kids’ TV show
saying “I am fruit, I like strawberries and melons.”

Those example sentences above would sound more natural in these ways.

> （１）「果物では、いちご **や** メロン **とか** が好きです。」
>
> （２）「果物だと、いちご **とか** メロン **とか** が好きです。」
>
> （３）「果物では、いちご **や** メロンが好きです。」
>
> （４）「果物だと、いちご **とか** メロンが好きです。」

##

## Formal vs Casual

では can be formal or casual.

だと is a casual expression, so it’s often used with とか which is also casual.

とか is casual but can be used in friendly keigo.

や can be formal or casual.

##

## Colloquial vs Literary

や can be colloquial or literary.

とか is a colloquial expression.

##

## Using with Nouns or Other Words

や can be used with nouns generally.

とか can be used with nouns, verbs or adjectives.

> 「イチゴを切る **とか** 潰す **とか** してヨーグルトに入れるとおいしい。」

##

## Position

や can be used between nouns.

とか can be used between words or after a word.

##

## Meaning

や and とか have the same meaning.

> 私は動物園でゾウ **や** キリンを見ました。
>
> 私は動物園でゾウ **とか** キリンを見ました。
>
> 私は動物園でゾウ **や** キリン **とか** を見ました。
>
> 私は動物園でゾウ **とか** キリン **とか** を見ました。

All of these sentences above express that the speaker saw elephants and
giraffes at the zoo, and imply that s/he also saw other animals.

##

## Conclusion

So, the differences between や and とか are usage and impression.

> （３）「果物では、いちご **や** メロンが好きです。」

is polite or written-language-like. （１）（２）（４） are all casual or friendly keigo
style.

> （２）「果物だと、いちご **とか** メロン **とか** が好きです。」

is the most casual one. とか is very colloquial so can be used in personal
emails or something, but can almost never be used in assignment writings,
reports etc.
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2016-07-02T11:55:05.013
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2016-07-02T11:55:05.013
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer