Updated on March 6, 2024
The abbreviation 'etc.' is a small word with a big impact. It is a Latin term that stands for 'et cetera,' which translates to 'and the rest' in English. This term is used to indicate that there are additional items or ideas that could be listed, but have been omitted for brevity. 'Etc.' is a versatile term that is used in many different contexts, from casual conversation to formal academic writing.
The significance of 'etc.' goes beyond its practical use as a shorthand term. It is a reminder that there is always more to consider, more to learn, and more to explore. This cultural importance is reflected in its use in many different languages around the world. For example, in Spanish, 'etc.' is translated as 'etcétera,' while in French, it is 'etc.' as well. In German, it is 'u.s.w.' (which stands for 'und so weiter'), and in Japanese, it is 'etc.' as well, demonstrating the global reach and significance of this humble term.
Understanding the translation of 'etc.' in different languages can help us appreciate the richness and diversity of global cultures. It can also help us communicate more effectively with people from different linguistic backgrounds, building bridges of understanding and respect.
Afrikaans | ens | ||
The Afrikaans word "ens" derives from the Middle Dutch "ende si", meaning "and so" or "and if". | |||
Amharic | ወዘተ | ||
The Amharic word "ወዘተ" derives from the Ge'ez root "ዘተ", meaning "the rest" or "the remainder." | |||
Hausa | da dai sauransu | ||
In Hausa, "da dai sauransu" originally meant "and so on" but is now used to mean "etc." | |||
Igbo | wdg | ||
The Igbo word "wdg" can also mean "and so on" or "the rest." | |||
Malagasy | sns | ||
The Malagasy word "sns" can also mean "and others" or "and so on". | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | etc. | ||
In Nyanja, "etc" can also mean "and so on" or "and the like". | |||
Shona | nezvimwewo | ||
The word "nezvimwewo" is derived from the Proto-Bantu noun "-mewo", meaning "and so forth". | |||
Somali | iwm | ||
The phrase "iyo wixii la mid", from which "iwm" is a contraction, means "and what comes after it." | |||
Sesotho | jj | ||
The word "jj" in Sesotho also means "and so on" or "and so forth". | |||
Swahili | na kadhalika | ||
"Na kadhalika" comes from the Swahili word "kadhalika" meaning "like that" or "in the same manner". It is a borrowing from the Arabic word "kadhālika" which has the same meaning. | |||
Xhosa | njl | ||
The word "njl" in Xhosa is derived from the verb "njila", meaning "to continue" or "to go on" | |||
Yoruba | abbl | ||
Abbl is also used as a term for an unspecified number in a set of things. | |||
Zulu | njll | ||
The word "njll" in Zulu can also mean "and so on" or "and the rest" | |||
Bambara | o ni dɔ wɛrɛw | ||
Ewe | kple bubuwo | ||
Kinyarwanda | n'ibindi | ||
Lingala | bongo na bongo | ||
Luganda | nebirala bingi | ||
Sepedi | bjalobjalo | ||
Twi (Akan) | ne ade | ||
Arabic | إلخ | ||
The word "etc" in Arabic, "إلخ," is an abbreviation of the phrase "وغير ذلك," meaning "and other (things) like it." | |||
Hebrew | וכו | ||
The abbreviation “וכו” (ve-khu) is the Aramaic equivalent of the Latin “et cetera,” meaning “and so forth” or “and the like.” | |||
Pashto | نور | ||
The Pashto word "نور" can also refer to light, brightness, or illumination. | |||
Arabic | إلخ | ||
The word "etc" in Arabic, "إلخ," is an abbreviation of the phrase "وغير ذلك," meaning "and other (things) like it." |
Albanian | etj | ||
The Albanian word "etj" is a borrowing from French "etc.", which stands for the Latin locution "et cetera", meaning "and other things". | |||
Basque | etab | ||
"Etab" is the shortened form of "eta beste". "Eta" means "and" and "beste" means "more or other things or persons" | |||
Catalan | etc. | ||
Croatian | itd | ||
The Croatian 'itd.' is an acronym for 'i tako dalje', which literally translates as 'and so on'. | |||
Danish | etc | ||
I den danske betydning dækker 'etc.' typisk ikke så meget som det gør på engelsk. | |||
Dutch | enzovoort | ||
In the 17th century, "en zo vooort" was the name of a game where one person would say "en" and the next "zo", and so on. | |||
English | etc | ||
The Latin “et cetera,” meaning “and the rest,” is the full form of the abbreviation “etc.” | |||
French | etc | ||
“Etc” is an abbreviation of the Latin “et cetera” (“and other things”), which was borrowed into English and then French. | |||
Frisian | ensfh | ||
The Frisian word "ensfh" comes from the Latin word "et cetera". | |||
Galician | etc. | ||
German | usw | ||
The German "usw.", short for "und so weiter," literally means "and so on" | |||
Icelandic | osfrv | ||
The 'sv' in "osfrv" is pronounced 's' as in "osmium", not 'v' as in "osmium" | |||
Irish | srl | ||
"Srl" is an abbreviation of the Irish word "agus ar leith", meaning "and so on". | |||
Italian | eccetera | ||
Originating from the Latin for "and the rest," "eccetera" is often replaced with "etc." | |||
Luxembourgish | asw | ||
The word "asw" originates from the German "und so weiter", which also means "etc". | |||
Maltese | eċċ | ||
'Eċċ' is derived from the Latin word 'et cetera', meaning 'and other things' or 'and so on'. | |||
Norwegian | etc | ||
The Norwegian word "osv." is derived from the Latin "et cetera", meaning "and so on" or "and the rest". | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | etc | ||
The word "etc" is derived from the Latin "et cetera", meaning "and the rest". | |||
Scots Gaelic | msaa | ||
A common abbreviation for "m.s.a.", which stands for "miscellaneous". Also an uncommon abbreviation for "m.s.l.", which stands for "mean sea level". | |||
Spanish | etc | ||
En español, "etc." puede significar "etcétera" o "etc. etc.", que se usa para enfatizar la idea de un etcétera extenso. | |||
Swedish | etc | ||
"Etc" ursprungligen och fortfarande ibland "et cetera", från latinskans "et cætera". | |||
Welsh | ac ati | ||
The origin of 'ac ati' is obscure, but may be related to 'atci' ('again'), or the Cornish 'ha'k ('and'). |
Belarusian | і г.д. | ||
The abbreviation "і г.д." is also used in Belarusian to mean "and others like that" or "and so on and so forth". | |||
Bosnian | itd | ||
The Bosnian word "itd" is derived from the Latin "et cetera", meaning "and so on." | |||
Bulgarian | и т.н. | ||
The abbreviation "и т.н." is a short form of the phrase "и тъй нататък," which translates to "and so on" or "and so forth" in English. | |||
Czech | atd | ||
"Atd" is an abbreviation of an older spelling of "atd.", | |||
Estonian | jne | ||
Jne can also mean "and so on," "and so forth," and "whatnot." | |||
Finnish | jne | ||
Jne, which is also an abbreviation for ja niin edelleen or ja niin edespäin, has been in use since the early 19th century. | |||
Hungarian | stb. | ||
The Hungarian word "stb." stands for both "és társa" (literally "and co.") and "stb." (literally "etc."). | |||
Latvian | utt | ||
The Latvian word "utt" is not an abbreviation, but a borrowing from German "und so weiter", which has the same meaning. | |||
Lithuanian | ir pan | ||
The word "ir pan" in Lithuanian, aside from being an abbreviation for "et cetera," also means "and so on" or "the rest." | |||
Macedonian | итн | ||
In Serbian, "итн" is short for "и тако напред," meaning "and so on" or "and the like." | |||
Polish | itp | ||
The abbreviation 'itp' is derived from Latin "id est" meaning "that is" or "namely" and is synonymous with "etc." in the context of lists. | |||
Romanian | etc. | ||
In Romanian "etc." can also refer to a type of traditional song from the region of Oltenia. | |||
Russian | так далее | ||
"Так далее" literally means "so forth" and is used to indicate that there is more to come after the listed items. | |||
Serbian | итд | ||
The word "итд" is a shortened form of the Latin phrase "et cetera", which means "and other things". It is usually used to indicate that a list is not exhaustive. | |||
Slovak | atď | ||
The abbreviation "atď" in Slovak is derived from the Latin "et cetera", meaning "and so on" or "and the rest." | |||
Slovenian | itd | ||
ITD is the acronym for the Institute for Contemporary Art in Ljubljana, Slovenia. | |||
Ukrainian | тощо | ||
"Тощо" (etc) is a short form of the Ukrainian phrase "і тому подібне", which means "and so on". |
Bengali | ইত্যাদি | ||
ইত্যাদি (lit. "and so on") is derived from Sanskrit and is often used as a placeholder to indicate that a list is not exhaustive. | |||
Gujarati | વગેરે | ||
In Gujarati, "વગેરે" can also mean "and so on" or "and the like". | |||
Hindi | आदि | ||
The word "आदि" in Hindi is derived from the Sanskrit root "आदितः", which means "from the beginning" or "in the beginning." | |||
Kannada | ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ | ||
While it is commonly used like ‘etc’, literally, it means ‘and the like’ | |||
Malayalam | തുടങ്ങിയവ | ||
In English, "etc" is an abbreviation for "et cetera," which comes from Latin and means "and the rest." | |||
Marathi | इ | ||
The Marathi word "इ" can also refer to a mark on the forehead indicating a widow. | |||
Nepali | आदि | ||
The word "आदि" in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word "आदि" which means "beginning" or "origin." | |||
Punjabi | ਆਦਿ | ||
The word "ਆਦਿ" derives from Sanskrit "आदि" meaning "beginning, origin, source" | |||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | යනාදිය | ||
The word 'යනාදිය' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'आदि' ('ādi'), meaning 'beginning' or 'origin', and is used to indicate that something is not limited to what is mentioned and that there is more to it. | |||
Tamil | போன்றவை | ||
The word "போன்றவை" is derived from the Sanskrit word "आदी" meaning "beginning" or "first". | |||
Telugu | etc | ||
In Telugu, 'etc' can also mean 'and so on', 'and the like', or 'and others'. | |||
Urdu | وغیرہ | ||
The word "وغیرہ" is derived from the Arabic word "وغ", meaning "and others". It is often used in Urdu as a way to list additional items without having to write them all out. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 等等 | ||
“等等”本是语气助词,表示说话未完,后用于表示“以及其他”或“等候”之意。 | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 等等 | ||
"等等 (děngděng) literally means 'wait, wait', in the sense of pausing or hesitating." | |||
Japanese | 等 | ||
"等" can be read as "toh" and means "and others like that". | |||
Korean | 기타 | ||
"기타" means "guitar" in Japanese but means "others"/"etc" in Korean. | |||
Mongolian | гэх мэт | ||
"Гэх мэт" has been derived from "гэх мэт буюу" in Mongolian and has an alternate meaning of "and so on" in English. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | စသည်တို့ | ||
Indonesian | dll | ||
The word "dll" is derived from the Dutch word "et cetera" and is used in Indonesian as an abbreviation for "dan lain-lain" (and others). | |||
Javanese | lsp | ||
The Javanese word "lsp" can be used to emphasize the plurality of a subject or to indicate that there are more items in a list. | |||
Khmer | ល | ||
The Khmer word ល can also mean "and so on" or "and others." | |||
Lao | ແລະອື່ນໆ | ||
Malay | dan lain-lain | ||
The word "dan lain-lain" is derived from the Arabic phrase "wa ghayrihi," meaning "and others." | |||
Thai | ฯลฯ | ||
In Thai, "ฯลฯ" (pronounced "et cetera") also means "and so on," "and the like," or "and similar things." | |||
Vietnamese | vân vân | ||
"Vân vân" is a shortened form of the Chinese idiom "云云", which means "and so on" or "and the like". | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | atbp | ||
Azerbaijani | və s | ||
The Azerbaijani word "və s" is cognate with the Persian phrase "va gheira", meaning "and the like" or "and so on". | |||
Kazakh | және т.б. | ||
Kyrgyz | жана башкалар | ||
The Kyrgyz word "жана башкалар" means "and others", "et cetera", "and so forth", or "and the like" and is derived from the Persian "وَ غَیرہ". | |||
Tajik | ва ғайра | ||
The word "ва ғайра" is derived from the Persian word "وغیره" (va ghayra), which has the same meaning. | |||
Turkmen | we ş.m. | ||
Uzbek | va boshqalar | ||
Uyghur | قاتارلىقلار | ||
Hawaiian | a pēlā aku | ||
The Hawaiian word "a pēlā aku" is also used to mean "and so on" or "and the like". | |||
Maori | etc. | ||
In Maori, "etc." is also commonly used as a noun meaning "miscellaneous" or "odds and ends." | |||
Samoan | ma isi | ||
Ma isi is borrowed from the English word "et cetera". | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | atbp | ||
The term "atbp." is an abbreviation of the Tagalog phrase "at iba pa" which also translates to "and so on" or "and the like". |
Aymara | juk'ampi | ||
Guarani | ambueve | ||
Esperanto | ktp | ||
The word "ktp" is an abbreviation of the Esperanto phrase "kaj tiel plu", which means "and so on". | |||
Latin | etc. | ||
In Latin, “etc.” is an abbreviation of the phrase "et cetera," which means "and other things." |
Greek | και τα λοιπά | ||
The phrase "και τα λοιπά" (pronounced "ke ta lipá") is a contraction of the phrase "και τα λοιπά τα οποία," which literally means "and the rest which." | |||
Hmong | lwm yam | ||
lwm yam derives from the Chinese "等" (děng), meaning "and the like" or "etc." | |||
Kurdish | hwd | ||
The word "hwd" is also used in Kurdish to mean "and so on" or "and the like". | |||
Turkish | vb | ||
"vb" is the abbreviated form of "ve benzerleri" or "ve benzeri" which means "and the likes" in Turkish. | |||
Xhosa | njl | ||
The word "njl" in Xhosa is derived from the verb "njila", meaning "to continue" or "to go on" | |||
Yiddish | עטק | ||
In Eastern Yiddish, עטק (etk) also means "etc.", "in the same way". | |||
Zulu | njll | ||
The word "njll" in Zulu can also mean "and so on" or "and the rest" | |||
Assamese | আদি | ||
Aymara | juk'ampi | ||
Bhojpuri | आदि-आदि | ||
Dhivehi | ފަދަ ކަންކަމެވެ | ||
Dogri | बगैरा | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | atbp | ||
Guarani | ambueve | ||
Ilocano | kdpy | ||
Krio | ɛn ɔda tin dɛn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | هتد | ||
Maithili | आदि | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯑꯁꯤꯅꯆꯤꯡꯕ | ||
Mizo | adangte | ||
Oromo | kkf | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଇତ୍ୟାଦି | ||
Quechua | hukkuna | ||
Sanskrit | इत्यादि | ||
Tatar | һ.б. | ||
Tigrinya | ወዘተ | ||
Tsonga | sw.sw | ||