Listing Reasons in Japanese: し

JLPT N4. Used in both conversation and writing, although it is a casual expression.

し is used to list clauses. It can be used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns, but with na-adjectives and nouns the auxiliary verb is required.

The difference between ～し and ～たり is that ～し is used to list related things. For example, if someone asked you why you liked Wada-sensei you might reply:

和田先生わだせんせいは頭あたまがいいし、面白おもしろいし、それにとても親切しんせつです。

Wada-sensei is clever, amusing and, moreover, he’s kind.

All the above are related—they are reasons why you like Wada-sensei. One typical sentence structure is to list two reasons and then give the result at the end.

【Reason】し【Reason】し【Result】

あのお店みせは安やすいし、料理りょうりがおいしいし、好すきですよ。

That restaurant is cheap and the food is good—I like it.

残業ざんぎょうがあまりないし、休やすみが簡単かんたんに取とれるし、新卒しんそつの中なかでその会社かいしゃは人気にんきがありますよ。

There’s not much overtime, you can easily take holiday—that company is popular among new graduates.

し is often used at the end of the sentence to give a belated or secondary reason for something.

和田わだ	明日あしたはピックニックに行いくの？
Wada	You going to the picnic tomorrow?
ロス	そうだよ。他ほかにやることないし。
Ross	Yeah. Besides, I don’t have anything else to do.

花はな	夏休なつやすみはバイトをしようと思おもっているんだけど、どう思おもう？
Hana	I was thinking about getting a job during the summer holidays. What do you think?
大地だいち	家いえでぶらぶら過すごごすよりいいんじゃない？お金かねも少すこし貯ためられるし。
Daichi	It’s better than hanging around the house all day? You can also save some money.