Ending a non-exhaustive list with "shenme de"
Revision as of 03:17, 25 October 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs)
什么的(shénme de) is an informal way to express etc.(formally expressed using 等), and used to end a list of things when it is obvious to the listener what class of things the speaker is talking about. It can also be used after a single item if it is obvious enough what might follow.
- 欧洲 有 哪 些 国家? 法国，英国，德国 什么 的. 反正 都 是 些 小 国家！
- 像 数学 啊，化学 啊，英语 啊 什么的，我 觉得 超级 无聊，不 想 学！
- 希特勒 啊，列宁 啊，毛泽东 啊 什么的，这 些 人 对 我 来 说 都 差不多。
- 游泳 什么的 对 身体 有 好处。
Its can be a little impolite to use 什么的 after a list of peoples names. However, in example 3, the author didn't feel the need to be polite to Hitler, Lenin, and Mao Ze Dong. 等 can be used instead in this case. When referring to a list of friends in informal contexts there is no problem using 什么的.
Sources and further reading
Books
汉语语法百项讲练 pp304-307
