What is the meaning of ”など”?
How do you translate "など"?
Examples:
1. 手紙にはクリスマスに欲しいプレゼントなどが書いてあります. - In the letter you write things that you want for Christmas.
2. 神戸大学などの研究グループは「あかり」を使って、火星と木星の間にある６６の小惑星を調べました. - Kobe University's research group uses "Akari" to study 66 asteroids between Mars and Jupiter.
Did I translate these sentences correctly? I don't know what "など" adds to the meaning. Can I drop "など" in each sentence and would it change the meaning of them?

Question

What is the meaning of ”など”?
How do you translate "など"? 
Examples:
1. 手紙にはクリスマスに欲しいプレゼントなどが書いてあります. - In the letter you write things that you want for Christmas.
2. 神戸大学などの研究グループは「あかり」を使って、火星と木星の間にある６６の小惑星を調べました. - Kobe University's research group uses "Akari" to study 66 asteroids between Mars and Jupiter.
Did I translate these sentences correctly? I don't know what "など" adds to the meaning. Can I drop "など" in each sentence and would it change the meaning of them?

Answer

など is ",etc".  
If you listed up all the things that are written on the letter, then you don't need to add など.

Number 2 is well translated but I'm not sure what it meant in number 1.
書いてあります。means it's already written.  You're not going to write it now. 
The person that wrote letter could be you or somebody else but it's already written.

Answers · 1

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