と vs. って

In Japanese, the to と particle and tte って particle are quoting particles: they're used to quote things. It's often said one is the formal quoting particle while the other is the causal quoting particle, but there are various situations where you can't just replace one by the other.

In this article, I'll list the differences between to と and tte って, for reference.

Functions

The to と particle has other functions besides quotation. These are functions that the tte って particle doesn't have.

neko to inu
猫と犬
Cats and dogs.
(parallel marker.)
*neko tte inu
~~猫って犬~~
(doesn't mean the same thing.)

hashiru to tsukareru
走ると疲れる
If [I] run [I] get tired.
(conditional to と.)
*hashiru tte tsukareru
~~走るって疲れる~~
(doesn't mean the same thing.)

Similarly, the tte って particle has functions besides quotation that the to と particle doesn't have.

Tarou tte dare?
太郎って誰？
Who is Tarou?
(tte って topic marker.)
Tarou to dare?
太郎と誰？
*Who is tarou? (invalid.)
Tarou and who? (valid, but the meaning is different.)

Phrases like nani wo shitatte なにをしたって are synonymous with nani wo shitemo 何をしても, "no matter what you do." This tte って comes from the tote とて particle^{(日本国語大辞典:たって)}, so it's a different tte って.

Ideophones

The to と particle can be used with all sorts of mimetic words. The tte って particle, however, can only be used with phonomimes (onomatopoeia). It can't be used with phenomimes (gitaigo 擬態語), and psychomimes (gijougo 擬情語).

Below we have an animate phonomime, a sound an animal makes:

neko ga nyaa to naita
猫がにゃあと鳴いた
The cat cried "meow."
neko ga nyaa tte naita
猫がにゃあって鳴いた
(same meaning.)

Below, an inanimate phonomime, a sound a thing makes:

kaminari ga gorogoro to natta
雷がゴロゴロと鳴った
The thunder made a thundering sound.
kaminari ga gorogoro tte natta
雷がゴロゴロって鳴った
(same meaning.)

Next, a phenomime:

pikapika to kagayaita
ピカピカと輝いた
Shining with sparkles.
*pikapika tte kagayaita
~~ピカピカって輝いた~~
(invalid.)

Finally, a psychomime:

wakuwaku to kitai shita
わくわくと期待した
Expected excitedly.
*wakuwaku tte kitai shita
~~わくわくって期待した~~
(invalid.)

Abbreviation

There are various cases where tte って can't be replaced by to と, but can be replaced by to iu という, forming a relative clause.

jinsei tte mon da
人生ってもんだ
The thing which is life.
*jinsei to mon da
人生ともんだ
(doesn't mean the same thing.)
{jinsei to iu} mono da
人生というものだ
The thing [that] {is called life}.

Below, some examples which report hearsay.^{(Hirose and Nawata, 2016:5-6)}

{Tarou ga bengoshi da} tte hanashi
太郎が弁護士だって話
The story that says: {Tarou is a lawyer}.
*{Tarou ga bengoshi da} to hanashi
~~太郎が弁護士だと話~~
(invalid.)
{Tarou ga bengoshi da} to iu hanashi
太郎が弁護士だという話
The story that says: {Tarou is a lawyer}.

Usage

The tte って particle is said to be the casual variant of the to と particle. This gives the impression that in causal speech you wouldn't use to と, but this isn't true: the to と particle is normally used in casual speech with verbs of thought.^{(Nilep and Fujimoto, 2017:4–5)}

Verbs of speech and sound, like "to say," iu いう, "to hear," kiku 聞く, "to answer," kotaeru 答える, and so on, normally get the tte って particle in casual speech.

muri da tte itta
無理だって言った
"It's impossible," [he] said.

Verbs of thought, like omou 思う and kangaeru 考える, both translating roughly to "to think," normally take the to と particle, even in casual speech.

muri da to omotta
無理だと思った
"It's impossible," [he] thought.

Final Particle

Both particles can appear at the end of sentences with an omitted verb, however, since the omitted verb tends to be "to say," most of the time only the tte って quoting particle is seen at the end of sentences.

shiranai
知らない
[I] don't know.
shiranai tte
知らないって
(two meanings.)
1. [Someone else] said: [I] don't know.
  [He] said that [he] doesn't know.
2. [I] said: [I] don't know.
  [I already] told [you] that [I] don't know.
shiranai to
知らないと
(three meanings.)
- The same two meanings that tte って has, plus the conditional to と. When you have a conditional with an omitted consequence, it's normally assumed the consequence is something like dame ダメ, "not good."
- shiranai to dame
  しらないとダメ
  If doesn't know: not good.
- To avoid it becoming "not good," one must know. In other words:
- "I have to know it."
  "I have to learn it."