What is と?
The particle と is one of those small words that punches way above its weight. It handles several completely different jobs in Japanese, and you'll run into all of them from day one.
At its core, と connects things together. It links nouns into a complete list ("A and B"), attaches you to another person ("with someone"), and hooks quoted speech or thoughts onto verbs like 言う (to say) and 思う (to think). It also shows up in comparisons when you want to ask which of two things wins out.
On top of all that, と also has a conditional use ("when/if") that we cover separately.
The trick with と is recognizing which job it's doing based on context. Our guide to と, から, まで, and よ covers と alongside other commonly confused particles. A noun before と followed by another noun? That's "and." A person before と followed by an action verb? That's "with." A sentence ending in と before 言う or 思う? That's a quotation. Once you see the patterns, they click fast.
Main Uses
1. Connecting Nouns ("and")
When you list nouns with と, you're giving an exhaustive list. Meaning you're saying these items and nothing else. This is different from や, which implies there's more you're not mentioning.
Pattern: [Noun] + と + [Noun] (+ と + [Noun]...)
If you say りんごとバナナを買った, you bought apples and bananas. That's the full list, nothing else.
2. "With" Someone
Put と after a person to say you did something together with them.
Pattern: [Person] + と + [Verb]
This is straightforward. 友達と映画を見た means you watched a movie with your friend. The と marks who you were with.
3. Quotation Marker
This is where と gets really useful. It attaches what someone said, thought, or is called to a verb. You'll see it constantly with 言う (to say), 思う (to think), and 聞く (to ask/hear).
Pattern: [Quote] + と + 言う／思う／聞く
The quote can be an exact statement or a general idea. Japanese doesn't stress the difference between direct and indirect quotes the way English does. と handles both.
4. Comparison (どちらの方が)
When comparing two things, と connects the two items being compared.
Pattern: [A] と [B] と、どちら（の方）が ～？
This is your go-to pattern for "which is more...?" questions.