tanin to no sessyoku wo saketa.

This is one of the most common questions about this sentence.

他人との接触 is made from:

• 他人 = other people / strangers / others
• と = with
• の = linking particle, like of
• 接触 = contact

So 他人との接触 literally means contact with other people.

Here, と still keeps its meaning of with, and の turns the whole phrase 他人と into something that can modify the noun 接触.

A good way to think of it is:

• AとのB = B with A / B involving A

Examples:

• 友達との会話 = conversation with a friend
• 先生との約束 = an appointment/promise with the teacher
• 外国人との交流 = interaction with foreigners

So 他人との接触 is a very natural noun phrase.

Because 接触 is a noun here, and the sentence needs to express contact with other people as one complete object.

• 他人との接触を避けた = avoided contact with other people

If you say 他人と接触を避けた, it sounds incomplete or awkward, because 他人と is not properly linked to 接触 as a noun phrase.

You usually need との to connect them:

• 他人との接触
• 上司との面談
• 家族との時間

So in this sentence, との is what makes contact with others into a single unit.

It can mean either, depending on context.

他人（たにん） often means:

• other people
• someone else
• strangers / people not closely connected to you

In many contexts, especially daily life, it often has the feeling of people outside your family or close circle, so strangers can be a natural translation.

For example:

• 他人に迷惑をかける = cause trouble to other people
• 他人のことに口を出す = interfere in other people’s affairs

In this sentence, 他人との接触 can mean:

• contact with other people
• contact with strangers

The exact nuance depends on the broader context.

接触（せっしょく） is a noun meaning contact.

It is a somewhat formal or neutral word, and it is very common in writing, news, medical contexts, and official language.

Examples:

• 皮膚の接触 = skin contact
• 直接接触 = direct contact
• 接触を避ける = avoid contact

In this sentence, 接触を避けた is a common combination:

• 接触 = contact
• 避けた = avoided

So the sentence sounds natural and standard.

Because 接触 is the direct object of 避けた.

• 避ける = to avoid
• What was avoided? → 他人との接触

So:

• 他人との接触を避けた = avoided contact with other people

This is very straightforward object marking:

• 危険を避ける = avoid danger
• トラブルを避ける = avoid trouble
• 人混みを避ける = avoid crowds

The dictionary form is 避ける（さける）, meaning to avoid.

避けた is the plain past form:

• 避ける = avoid / will avoid
• 避けた = avoided

So this sentence is talking about something that already happened.

Related forms:

• 避けない = do not avoid
• 避けなかった = did not avoid
• 避けます = avoid / will avoid (polite)
• 避けました = avoided (polite)

Because Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is already understood from context.

So 他人との接触を避けた could mean:

• I avoided contact with other people
• He avoided contact with other people
• She avoided contact with other people
• They avoided contact with other people

Japanese does this very often. If the subject is obvious from the situation, it is simply omitted.

If you wanted to include it, you could say:

• 私は他人との接触を避けた。 = I avoided contact with other people.
• 彼は他人との接触を避けた。 = He avoided contact with other people.

Not exactly. This sentence specifically says avoided contact with other people.

That is slightly different from directly saying avoided other people.

Compare:

• 他人との接触を避けた。
  = avoided contact with other people

• 他人を避けた。
  = avoided other people

The first sounds a bit more indirect, formal, or situational. It focuses on the contact itself.
The second is more direct and can sound stronger, like physically or intentionally avoiding people.

Yes, grammatically it is と plus の, but learners often remember it as a set pattern because it appears so often before nouns.

Pattern:

• XとのY = Y with X / Y involving X

Examples:

• 親との関係 = relationship with one’s parents
• 会社との契約 = contract with a company
• 友人との旅行 = trip with a friend

So while it is made of two particles, it is very useful to recognize との as a common phrase-building pattern.

Yes, it is natural, though it sounds a bit neutral or formal because of 接触.

It would fit well in contexts like:

• health advice
• news reports
• official writing
• written narration

For example, during a disease outbreak, 他人との接触を避けた would sound very natural.

In casual conversation, people might also say things like:

• 人と会うのを避けた。 = I avoided meeting people.
• 人との接触を避けた。 = I avoided contact with people.

So the sentence is perfectly natural; it just has a slightly formal tone.

That is probably just for learning purposes.

Normal Japanese writing would usually be:

他人との接触を避けた。

Japanese is normally written without spaces between words. Textbooks and study materials sometimes add spaces to make the structure easier to see.

So the natural written form is:

• 他人との接触を避けた。

not

• 他人　と　の　接触　を　避けた。