…什么的 / …之类的【shénme de / zhī lèi de】

什么的 goes after one or more examples and says they stand for a longer list. It is spoken and casual. The examples can be nouns or verb phrases.

One example is enough when you only want to sound vague.

之类的

之类的 means "and that kind of thing" and sounds a little more neutral. Unlike 什么的, it can stand before the noun that names the category, often with 像 at the front.

• × 苹果、香蕉什么的水果 → 苹果、香蕉之类的水果

In formal writing, both give way to 等.

Where it goes

什么的 comes after the examples, never before them, and it doesn't take another "and so on" with it.

• × 什么的苹果、香蕉 → 苹果、香蕉什么的
• × 苹果、香蕉等等什么的 → 苹果、香蕉什么的