How to use 等等
⋯⋯ 等 / 等等
等 and 等等 can follow a list to leave room for other members of the same category. They are useful in explanations and more formal descriptions as well as ordinary speech. A category noun may follow 等 to identify the broader group represented by the examples already named.
Choose examples that make the category recognizable, rather than treating the ending as a substitute for necessary information. A list need not meet a rigid minimum length in every context. Unlike the casual 什么的, 等 is often suitable after names in a more neutral enumeration. The ordinary Chinese list punctuation comes between the listed items; do not automatically copy English “etc.” punctuation directly into the Chinese phrase.
Examples with pinyin and English
西瓜、菠萝、葡萄等等，我都喜欢吃。
Watermelons, pineapples, grapes, and so on... I like them all.
我爸爸很喜欢运动，比如跑步、游泳、打羽毛球等等。
My father likes different sports, for example, running, swimming, playing badminton, etc.
Bruce Li、Jackie Chan、Jet Li 等都是功夫明星。
Bruce Li, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, etc. are all kung fu stars.
我们公司有市场部、设计部、技术部等等。
Our company has a marketing department, design department, technology department, etc.
What to remember
- Put 等 or 等等 after the examples.
- 等 can precede a category noun.
- Keep the implied category understandable.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.