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「色々と手続きがある」
I am confused about the usage of と here. I understand it is acting as an adverb, but I don't see why it isn't being used as an adjective. 色々な. Maybe I am translating it wrong? There are many/various procedures.

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The difference between 色々と手続きがある/色々な・・・ is only grammatical (色々と[adv.] modifying ある / 色々な[ adj.] modifying 手続き), and I don't see any difference in meaning.

色々と手続きがある can be 'translated' as There are procedures variously, which obviously is not a normal sentence, but I guess many English speakers would understand it as There are various procedures if forced to.

So you can simply think 色々なXがある / 色々とXがある mean the same thing.

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A side note is that 色々とある is also possible, without indicating various what. Here 色々な is impossible simply because there is no noun to be modified. The expression is used mostly in conversation, as an answer to Why?. This is used when you want to be vague. The conveyed message is There are many things/reasons, but I don't want to talk about them to you, or I really cannot elaborate on what they are.

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  • Are there any other words that turn into an adverb with an addition of と?
    – max
    Jan 27, 2022 at 4:00
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    @max There should be many if you think of just adding と (cf this question; This dictionary indicates the category ト・タル). But not so many which can take both と and な. One word that comes to my mind is あいにく (although あいにくな is less common than あいにくの when used as an adjective.)
    – sundowner
    Jan 27, 2022 at 5:52
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Although the nuance is subtle, I feel 色々と手続きがある implies there are lots of things to do, while 色々な手続きがある focuses more on the variety of those things.

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  • Although the nuance is subtle, I feel 色々と手続きがある implies there are lots of things to do, while 色々な手続きがある focuses more on the variety of those things. - This is true because when you say 色々と手続きがある, it's hiding an adjective inbetween. 色々とめんどうな手続きがある　色々とやっかいな手続きがある　色々と時間が掛かる手続きがある , which implies you are not happy with the nature of 手続き. Kids say いろんな色がある！ (Wow, so many colors!) They usually do not say いろいろと色がある... （ex. Gosh, so many annoying colors to deal with.)
    – Jun Sato
    Jun 6 at 17:25

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