Learn Hardcore Japanese: kazoku to kurasimasita.

Breakdown of kazoku to kurashimashita.

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What does the particle と mean here?

Here, と means with.

So 家族と暮らしました means lived with family. In this sentence, と marks the person or group you lived together with.

Examples:

Why is there no word for my family?

Japanese often leaves that kind of information unstated when it is obvious from context.

So 家族 can often be understood as my family in a sentence like this, even though there is no separate word for my.

If needed, Japanese can be more explicit:

But in many situations, just 家族と sounds perfectly natural.

Why is there no subject like I?

Japanese very often omits the subject when it is already clear from context.

So 家族と暮らしました。 could mean:

The exact subject depends on the surrounding conversation or text.

This is one of the most common differences from English: Japanese does not need to state the subject every time.