How to Say “Etc.” with 等 and 等等 (děng / děngděng)
等 and 等等 (děng, děngděng) are the formal “and so on / etc.” for closing a list: 跑步、游泳、打球等 (“running, swimming, ball games, etc.”). They attach straight onto the last item with no comma before. When you go on to name the category (等城市, “cities such as…”), only the single 等 works, never 等等.
Why this trips learners up
When you want to round off a list with a formal “and so on” or “etc.,” Chinese uses 等 (děng) or 等等 (děngděng). You just make your list and add it at the end: 跑步、游泳、打球等 (“running, swimming, ball games, etc.”), 苹果、香蕉、葡萄等等 (“apples, bananas, grapes, and so on”). For a plain trailing list like this, 等 and 等等 are interchangeable.
The one rule to remember about the writing: no comma before 等. English puts a comma in front of “etc.,” but Chinese attaches 等 / 等等 directly onto the last item, with no 顿号 (、) in front. So it's 葡萄等等, never 葡萄，等等. You'll often see it set up by 比如 (“for example”): 他喜欢运动，比如跑步、游泳等等.
There's a second structure where 等 names the category the items belong to: list + 等 + [Category] + Predicate. 北京、上海、广州等城市都很发达 (“cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are all developed”), 牛津、剑桥等大学 (“universities such as Oxford and Cambridge”). Here is the catch: when a category noun follows, only the single 等 works. You can't say 等等城市, only 等城市.
In tone, 等 / 等等 is the formal member of the “and so on” family, at home in news, reports and writing, where 什么的 is casual and 之类的 sits in between. And unlike 什么的, 等 is perfectly polite after a list of people's names: 王经理、李主任等都参加了 (“Manager Wang, Director Li and others all attended”). When in doubt in a formal setting, 等 is the safe choice.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
zhuōzi shàng 桌子上 Place yǒu 有 Verb shū 书 Object bǐ 笔 Object běnzi 本子 Object děngděng 等等 Pattern
On the desk there are books, pens, notebooks, etc. (等等 just trailing a list).
zhè cì lǚxíng 这次旅行 Time wǒ 我 Subject qù 去 Verb le 了 Function word Rìběn 日本 Place Hánguó 韩国 Place Tàiguó 泰国 Place děng 等 Pattern
On this trip I went to Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc. (single 等 trailing).
tā 他 Subject huì 会 Function word hěn duō zhǒng yǔyán 很多种语言 Object bǐrú 比如 Connector Yīngyǔ 英语 Object Rìyǔ 日语 Object Fǎyǔ 法语 Object děngděng 等等 Pattern
He speaks many languages, for example English, Japanese, French, etc. (比如 … 等等).
Shànghǎi 上海 Place Shēnzhèn 深圳 Place Hángzhōu 杭州 Place děng 等 Pattern chéngshì 城市 Object fāzhǎn 发展 Verb de 得 Function word hěn kuài 很快 Complement
Cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou are developing fast (等 + the category 城市).
zhè cì huìyì 这次会议 Time Wáng jīnglǐ 王经理 Subject Lǐ zhǔrèn 李主任 Subject děng 等 Pattern dōu 都 Adverb cānjiā 参加 Verb le 了 Function word
Manager Wang, Director Li and others all attended this meeting (等 after people's names).
huánjìng bǎohù 环境保护 Object qìhòu biànhuà 气候变化 Object děng 等 Pattern wèntí 问题 Object yuèláiyuè 越来越 Adverb shòu 受 Verb guānzhù 关注 Object
Issues such as environmental protection and climate change are getting more attention (等 + an abstract category).
chuāncài 川菜 Object yuècài 粤菜 Object xiāngcài 湘菜 Object děngděng 等等 Pattern tā 他 Subject dōu 都 Adverb zuò 做 Verb de 得 Function word hěn hǎo 很好 Complement
Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan cuisine, and so on, he cooks them all well (a fronted list with 等等, picked up by 都).
zhè jiā shūdiàn 这家书店 Subject mài 卖 Verb xiǎoshuō 小说 Object cídiǎn 词典 Object zázhì 杂志 Object děng 等 Pattern gè zhǒng gè yàng de 各种各样的 Adjective shū 书 Object
This bookstore sells all sorts of books: novels, dictionaries, magazines, and so on (等 + a modified category).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: No comma before 等 / 等等. English writes “…, etc.” with a comma, but Chinese attaches it straight onto the last item: 苹果、香蕉、葡萄等等, not 苹果、香蕉、葡萄，等等.
Why it happens: When a category noun follows, use the single 等, never 等等: 北京、上海等城市 (“cities such as Beijing and Shanghai”), not 北京、上海等等城市. 等等 can only trail off at the end.
Why it happens: 等, 等等, 什么的 and 之类的 all already mean “and so on,” so you pick just one. Stacking them is redundant: 苹果、香蕉等 (or …什么的), not 苹果、香蕉等什么的.
Compare & contrast
| 等 / 等等 (just trails the list off) | 等 + Category (names the class, single 等 only) | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 我喜欢西瓜、葡萄、草莓等等。wǒ xǐhuan xīguā, pútao, cǎoméi děngděng. | 西瓜、葡萄、草莓等水果我都喜欢。xīguā, pútao, cǎoméi děng shuǐguǒ wǒ dōu xǐhuan. | 我喜欢西瓜、葡萄、草莓等等 just trails off, “watermelon, grapes, strawberries, and so on,” and 等 or 等等 both work. 西瓜、葡萄、草莓等水果我都喜欢 names the class, “fruit such as watermelon, grapes and strawberries,” so only the single 等 fits. |
| 他去过法国、德国、意大利等。tā qù guo Fǎguó, Déguó, Yìdàlì děng. | 法国、德国、意大利等国家他都去过。Fǎguó, Déguó, Yìdàlì děng guójiā tā dōu qù guo. | 他去过法国、德国、意大利等 trails off, “France, Germany, Italy, etc.” 法国、德国、意大利等国家他都去过 names the category, “countries such as France, Germany and Italy,” with 等 + 国家. |
Try it yourself
Say “I like apples, bananas, grapes, and so on.” End with 等等.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Say “Etc.” with 等 and 等等 (děng / děngděng) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.