什么的 (non-exhaustive list)

• Pinyin: shénme de
• Formation: Noun 1 (，Noun 2) (，Noun 3) + 什么的
• Hanzi breakdown: 什 = 亻(person) + 十 (ten); 么 = simplified form of 麼

Meaning

The expression 什么的 (shénme de) is placed at the end of a list of items to indicate that the list is not complete, similar to 'and so on' or 'and stuff like that' in English. It gives a casual, conversational feel to the enumeration.

什么的 is an informal way to signal that you are giving examples rather than a complete list. It is very common in spoken Chinese and casual writing but would feel too informal for academic or official texts. Unlike 等等, which is more neutral in register, 什么的 carries a distinctly colloquial tone and sometimes implies the speaker considers the listed items to be of minor importance or too numerous to bother listing fully. Learners often confuse 什么的 with the interrogative 什么 (what), but in this usage it functions purely as a list-closing particle. It typically follows two or three nouns or noun phrases separated by commas.

Examples

1. 周末我喜欢看电影、逛街什么的。 On weekends I like watching movies, going shopping, and stuff like that.
2. 桌子上放着书、笔、本子什么的。 On the table there are books, pens, notebooks, and so on.
3. 他平时爱吃水果，苹果、香蕉什么的。 He usually likes to eat fruit — apples, bananas, and things like that.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, everyday

Tone: informal

Do Say

• 家里需要买点米、油什么的。
• 她喜欢养小动物，猫、狗什么的。
• 放假的时候我就看看书、听听音乐什么的。

Don't Say

• 什么的苹果和香蕉都很好吃。(什么的 must come after the list items, not before them) → 苹果、香蕉什么的都很好吃。
• 本公司主要生产手机、电脑什么的。(什么的 is too casual for formal business or official writing — use 等 instead) → 本公司主要生产手机、电脑等产品。
• 我买了三本书什么的。(什么的 implies an open-ended list, but only one category is mentioned with an exact quantity — no list effect) → 我买了书、杂志什么的。

Origin & History

什么的 derives from the interrogative pronoun 什么 (what) combined with the structural particle 的. Over time, this combination grammaticalized into a list-closing expression meaning 'and things like that,' losing its interrogative function entirely.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal