In this lesson we'll learn about additional particles that are used to list things colloquially: とか, など, and なんか.
とか means "such as." It can also be interpreted as "something like". This particle may be seen after nouns, the end of conjugations such as the て形 and the 命令形. It is somewhat colloquial, and you can often see it at the end of a sentence fragment.
1. 美由紀さんはギターとか、ドラムとか、ピアノとかたくさんお稽古に行ってるのよ。(女性言葉)
Miyuki is taking many lessons such as guitar, drum, and piano.
2. 民主主義は食料とか飲料のように輸出できるものではない。
Democracy is not exportable like food or drink.
3. まだ用意とかできてねえよ。(乱暴な言い方)
I still can't, uh, get prepared.
4. Youtubeを見てないで、少しは犬を散歩につれてくとか、本を読むとか、してはどう？(Casual)
How about doing something like walk the dog or read a book without watching Youtube?
5. テニスとかサッカーとかアメフトとかの球技が大好きだからね。(Casual)
Because I love ball sports like tennis, soccer, and (American) football.
6. 宏君のおばあさんは８０いくつとかでまだフランス語を教えているんですって。
Hiroshi's grandmother is something like 80 years old and is still teaching French.
など becomes なんか in colloquial settings. It is used to give related examples and may be seen after nouns or verbs. This particle is not usually used in list form like other similar particles such as と. However, when the need arises, it is often used together with the particle や.
Translation Note: The particle など is often also translated as "etc."
7. 私は休日は雑誌を読むなどして過ごしました。
I spent the holidays doing stuff like reading magazines.
8. 東京やニューヨーク市などの大都市には大勢の人が住んでいます。
A lot of people live in metropolises such as Tokyo and New York City.
10. お茶・砂糖・塩など
Tea, sugar, salt and so on
11. レモンやミカンやタンジェリンなどの果物を買い集めた。
I bought up fruits such as lemons, mandarin oranges, and tangerines.
漢字 Note: Lemon and mandarin oranges can be written in 漢字 as 檸檬 and 蜜柑 respectively, but they are usually just spelled in カタカナ.
12. 彼など適任者だね。
Someone like him is suitable, right?
13. このパソコンなどお買い得です。
Something like this personal computer is a bargain.
14. ヨーロッパの信用不安で海外経済が減速していることなどが影響している。
Events such as overseas economies decelerating due to uneasiness of confidence in Europe are taking an effect.
15. こりゃなんかええじゃん？ (Casual)
Isn't something like this OK?
16. 彼女になんか会わなければよかった。
If I had somehow not met her, it would have been good.
17. 私はテレビでアニメなどは見ません。
I don't watch things like anime on TV.
18. 休暇中に洗濯や掃除などしなくてもいい。(堅苦しい)
休みなのに洗濯とか掃除とかしなくてもいいじゃない。(Casual)
It's all right to not do laundry, cleaning and such on vacation.
19. 表彰なんか受けたくもねーし。(砕けた言い方)
I don't want any public acknowledgement.
20. 泣いてなどいられん。(Casual; dialectical)
I can't just cry.
21. 「ああ、佐伯あさっちゃんのところに行ったの。あんなヤツの言うことなんか、嘘っぱちだよ」
"Ahh, Sahaku went to Satchan's place? What that guy says is a downright lie.
From 冷たい誘惑 by 乃南アサ.
22. 今さら行くなどと言ってももう遅いよ。
Even if you say you're going to go now, you're already later.
23.甲冑なども精巧に出来ている。
Things like the armor are also exquisitely made.
漢字 Note: 冑 is not a 常用漢字. So, don't worry about it.
Variants' Note: など may also be seen as なんど, なぞ and なんぞ. These are all dialectical. So, who uses them is dependent on the region in question.