そしてsoshite“and; and then”

そして is a conjunction that means “and” or “and then”. You put it at the start of a sentence to add another fact or the next event. It is JLPT N5 vocabulary-grammar, and it is one of the first sentence connectors you learn. The catch: Japanese has several words for “and”, and そして only covers some of the jobs English “and” does.

そして joins sentences, not nouns. "Apples and bananas" is りんごとバナナ. "I ate. And then I left." is 食べました。そして、出かけました。

What does そして mean?

そして links a new sentence to the one before it and says “here is more in the same direction”. It has two main meanings:

• Addition — “and, also”: 彼は親切です。そして、おもしろいです。 (He’s kind. And he’s funny.)
• Sequence — “and then”: 朝ご飯を食べました。そして、学校へ行きました。 (I had breakfast. And then I went to school.)

It never adds contrast. If the second sentence surprises you or goes against the first, you need でも or しかし instead.

How to form そして

そして does not conjugate and does not attach to anything. It stands at the start of the second sentence, usually followed by a comma.

There is one more position you will see: before the last item in a list, after a comma.

京都と奈良、そして大阪へ行きました (I went to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka). Here そして marks the final item and gives it a little extra weight. It still does not replace と between the first items.

When is そして used?

Writing. そして is very common in written Japanese: essays, diaries, textbook reading passages, stories. It gives short sentences a clear flow, which is why N5 reading passages use it so much.

Telling a story. In spoken stories and narration, そして moves the plot forward: そして、誰もいなくなった (“And then there were none”). It can add a slightly dramatic “and then…” feel.

Careful or polite speech. In a presentation or a self-introduction, そして sounds tidy: 趣味は読書です。そして、料理も好きです.

Casual conversation — less often. When friends chat, they usually join ideas with the て-form (食べて、帰った) or with それで. そして in relaxed speech can sound a bit formal or like reading aloud.

そして example sentences

Nuance of そして

Same direction only. そして connects ideas that go together. 安いです。そして、おいしいです (It’s cheap, and it’s tasty) works because both are good points. 安いです。でも、おいしくないです (It’s cheap, but it’s not tasty) needs でも because the second point turns against the first.

Sequence is loose. When そして shows sequence, the time link is natural but not strict. It simply says what came next in the story. If you want to stress “after that, as the next step”, それから or てから is more precise.

It can mark a climax. Because そして often introduces the last item, it can feel like “and finally”. Writers use it to lead into the most important point: そして、一番大切なことは… (And the most important thing is…).

💡 Speaking tip: In conversation, try the て-form first: 朝ご飯を食べて、学校へ行きました. Save そして for when you want a clear break between two sentences.

そして vs それから

Both can mean “and then”, and both start a sentence. But they are not interchangeable.

Use それから when you order in a café or list things to do step by step. Use そして to describe something or to move a story along. For more on それから, see それから.

Common mistakes with そして

Is そして on the JLPT?

A typical item shows two sentences with a blank between them, like 「このへやは　ひろいです。（　）、あかるいです。」, with そして, でも and だから as options. Ask whether the second sentence agrees with, goes against, or results from the first.

Practice questions for そして

Learning path for そして

Related grammar to review next

• それから — the other “and then”, stronger on time order and used for adding items to a request
• でも — the spoken “but” to use when the next sentence goes against the first
• しかし — the written “however”, the contrast counterpart of そして in essays
• と — the particle for “and” between nouns, where そして does not work
• てから — expresses “after doing A” inside one sentence instead of across two

Learn そして with Hane

Hane gives you pairs of sentences and asks you to pick そして, それから or でも, so you learn which “and” fits. Practice with Hane.