Non-exhaustive lists with "dengdeng"

等等 (děng děng), or simply 等, has the same meaning as “and so on” or “etc.” in English. Both are placed after a series of items (the list of which generally exceeds two items).

Structure

The basic structure is easy. Just make a list of things, and add 等 or 等等 to the end of the list. It's the same as in English when we use "etc." at the end of a list.

A1,A2...等/等等

Examples

• 这里 有 茶、牛奶、可乐 等。
• 我 喜欢 看 书、逛 街、睡觉 等。I like to read books, window-shop, sleep etc.
• 西瓜、菠萝、苹果、葡萄 等等，都 是 我 喜欢 的 水果。Watermelons, pineapples, apples, grapes and so on are all the fruits that I like.
• 上海、北京、深圳、香港 等，我 都 去 过。Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong etc., I have all been to.
• Jackie Chen、Jet Li、Bruce Li等 都 是 中国 有名 的 功夫 明星。Jackie Chen, Jet Li, Bruce Li, etc. are all famous Chinese martial arts stars.
• 长城、故宫等 地方 都 是 北京 有名 的 景点。The Great Wall, the Summer Museum, etc. are all famous Beijing scenic spots.
• 我 有 很 多 外国 朋友，美国人、英国人、西班牙人等等。I have a lot of foreign friends: Americans, British, Spanish, etc.
• 我 的 男朋友 会 说 很 多 外语，英语、法语、西班牙语等等。My boyfriend can speak many foreign languages: English, French, Spanish, etc.
• 你 带 一 些 纸、笔 等 东西 吧。You bring some papers, pens and so on.
• 中国、印度、巴西等国家 都 很 穷。China, India, Brazil and so on are poor.

See also

• Ending a Non-Exhaustive List with "shenme de"
• "Stuff like that" with "zhileide"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 304) →buy