等 / 等等 (and so on)

• Pinyin: děng
• Formation: A1，A2 (，A3) + 等 / 等等 :: A1，A2 (，A3) + 等 + [Category Noun] + Predicate
• Hanzi breakdown: 等 = 竹 (bamboo) + 寺 (temple)

Meaning

The words 等 (děng) and 等等 (děngděng) are placed after a list of items to indicate that more items exist but are not listed. They function like 'etc.' or 'and so on' in English and are appropriate across a wide range of registers.

等 and 等等 are the most versatile and register-neutral ways to mark a non-exhaustive list in Mandarin. While 等等 simply means 'and so on,' 等 can also be followed by a category noun plus a predicate, forming a more structured expression such as 苹果、香蕉等水果 (fruits such as apples and bananas). This pattern is especially common in written Chinese, news reports, and formal documents. Compared to 什么的, which is distinctly casual, 等 and 等等 work well in both spoken and written contexts. Learners should note that 等 in this usage is different from the verb 等 meaning 'to wait' — context makes the distinction clear.

Examples

1. 北京、上海、广州等城市经济发展很快。 Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have experienced rapid economic development.
2. 他会说英语、法语、日语等等。 He can speak English, French, Japanese, and so on.
3. 超市里有蔬菜、水果、肉类等食品。 The supermarket has vegetables, fruit, meat, and other food items.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, written, formal, everyday

Tone: enumerative

Do Say

• 这次考试涉及语法、词汇、阅读等方面。
• 她去过法国、意大利、西班牙等等。
• 公司提供培训、保险、住房补贴等福利。
• 我们讨论了价格、质量、交货时间等问题。

Don't Say

• 等北京、上海是大城市。(等 must follow the list items, not precede them) → 北京、上海等是大城市。
• 他只会英语等等很多语言。(等等 already implies 'and more' — adding 很多 is redundant and awkward) → 他会英语等等很多语言。

Origin & History

等 originally meant 'rank' or 'grade' in Classical Chinese. Its use as a list-closing particle developed from the sense of grouping items of the same category. The reduplicated form 等等 emerged in vernacular Chinese to emphasize continuation.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal