Expressing non-exhaustive lists with 等等, 等 and 什么的
We use 等, 等等 and 什么的 when listing items. It is translated as “and so on”, “etc.”.
等等
We use 等等 
after an enumeration at the end of the sentence. It is used in the structure:
after an enumeration at the end of the sentence. It is used in the structure:Scheme
A1
A2
…
等等
In this structure, “A1” and “A2” are the homogeneous parts of the sentence. There must be two or more homogeneous parts.
Pay attention
There also may be a comma before 等等.
Examples
你可以收集邮票、电影票等等
You can collect stamps, movie tickets, and so on
nǐ kěyǐ shōují yóupiào, diànyǐng piào děngděng
Pay attention
When we list non-exhaustive things we should use the so-called Chinese back-sloping comma “、” between every homogeneous part of a sentence.
If there is a common word in the sentence, we should place it before the enumeration. We also often use the words 如 , 比如 , 例如 “for example” and 像 before the enumeration.
, 比如 , 例如 “for example” and 像 before the enumeration.Examples
我每天吃水果：苹果、橙子、香蕉、等等
I eat fruit every day: apples, oranges, bananas, etc.
wǒ měitiān chī shuǐguǒ: píngguǒ, chéngzi, xiāngjiāo, děngděng
我们喜欢很多中菜，比如饺子、火锅、烤鸭等等
We like many Chinese dishes, such as dumplings, hot pot, Peking duck, etc.
wǒmen xǐhuan hěn duō zhōng cài, bǐrú jiǎozi, huǒguō, kǎoyā děngděng
Pay attention
We also use 等等 as part of the set expression 如此等等 .
.等
We can also use the shortened form 等 at the end of a sentence if the non-exhaustive list is short.
Pay attention
We don’t use any punctuation marks before 等.
Examples
请告知你的地址、电话号码等
Please tell me your address, phone number, etc.
qǐng gàozhī nǐ de dìzhǐ, diànhuà hàomǎ děng
有些课程很难，比如数学、化学等
Some subjects are very difficult, like math, chemistry, etc.
yǒuxiē kèchéng hěn nán, bǐrú shǔxué, huàxué děng
However, most often we use 等 to complete an non-exhaustive lists in the middle of a sentence. It should be followed by a common word that denotes the category of the words being enumerated.
The category may be followed by the particle 的 .
.Scheme
A1
A2
等(的)
category
Examples
我们讨论了合同、工资等问题
We discussed contracts, salaries, etc.
wǒmen tǎolùn le hétóng, gōngzī děng wèntí
茶作为文化的一部分，与历史、交流、教育等有关
Tea is a big part of culture because it is related to history, communication, education, etc.
chá zuòwéi wénhuà de yí bùfen, yǔ lìshǐ, jiāoliú, jiàoyù děng yǒu guān
We can use this structure even if only one example is given.
Examples
散步等运动对身体有好处
Walking and other exercises are good for your health
sànbù děng yùndòng duì shēntǐ yǒu hǎochu
什么的
什么的 is an informal and colloquial way to express “and so on”. It should be stated after an enumeration at the end of a sentence.
is an informal and colloquial way to express “and so on”. It should be stated after an enumeration at the end of a sentence.Examples
我们谈了电影、小说、音乐什么的
We talked about movies, novels, music and so on
wǒmen tán le diànyǐng, xiǎoshuō, yīnyuè shénme de
我不喝含糖的饮料像可乐、雪碧什么的
I do not drink sugary drinks like Coke, Sprite and so on
wǒ bù hē hán táng de yǐnliào xiàng kělè, xuěbì shénme de
Pay attention
When listing people, we should use 等 or 等等. We do not use 什么的 because it is not polite in this case.
We also can use 什么的 after an action, which has the meaning “something like that”. This action is usually expressed with a combination of a verb and an object.
Examples
我们可以去看电影什么的
We can go to the movies or something like that
wǒmen kěyǐ qù kàn diànyǐng shénme de
汽车撞上了树什么的
The car hit a tree or something like that
qìchē zhuàngshàng le shù shénme de