▎等, děng, (Ptc), enumeration particle, etc...

 

Function Used in enumeration, 等 may refer to a closed listing or an open-ended listing, depending on the contexts.

1 我去過美國、法國等兩個國家。(closed)

Wǒ qùguò Měiguó, Fǎguó děng liǎng ge guójiā.

I have been to the US and the France. (only two)

2 我和男朋友的興趣很不一樣，他對文學、繪畫、舞蹈等都沒有興趣。(open)

Wǒ hàn nánpéngyǒu de xìngqù hěn bù yíyàng, tā duì wénxué, huìhuà, wǔdào děng dōu méi yǒu xìngqù.

My boyfriend and I have dissimilar interests. He’s not into things like literature, painting, and dance. (‘Things like’ implies that further examples could be given.)

3 我問過很多人，他們吃素大部分是因為宗教，也有不少是為了健康等原因。(open)

Wǒ wènguò hěn duō rén, tāmen chīsù dà bùfèn shì yīnwèi zōngjiào, yě yǒu bù shǎo shì wèile jiànkāng děng yuányīn.

I have asked many people why they are vegetarians, and for most it is because of religion. Others say they just want to eat healthier.

4 我們家要修理的地方很多，像客廳的窗戶、洗手間的門等。(open)

Wǒmen jiā yào xiūlǐ de dìfāng hěn duō, xiàng kètīng de chuānghù, xǐshǒujiān de mén děng.

There’s a lot that needs fixing our house, the living room window and bathroom door, just to name two.

 

Usage

(1) The total number of listed items can be reiterated following the enumeration particle, e.g.,

這個大學熱門的科系有國際關係系、會計系、中文系、英文系等四個科系。

Zhè ge dàxué rèmén de kēxì yǒu guójì guānxi xì, kuàiji xì, Zhōngwén xì, Yīngwén xì děng sì ge kēxì.

There are four popular programs in this university, international relations, accounting, Chinese and English. (closed listing, only four)

(2) The enumeration particle may be reduplicated, e.g.,

生活中有很多事都離不開電腦，比方說：買東西、查資料等等。

Shēnghuó zhōng yǒu hěn duō shì dōu líbùkāi diànnǎo, bǐfāng shuō: mǎi dōngxi, chá zīliào děngděng.

There are many areas in life in which we cannot do without computers, such as on-line shopping and looking up information.