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JLPT N3Emphasis

～など／～なんか／～なんて— The Dismissive 'Such Things'

These particles single out an item to belittle, dismiss, or downplay it — 'things like ~', 'the likes of ~'. They can express humility, contempt, disbelief, or 'no way'. など is neutral-to-formal, なんか is casual, and なんて is casual and can also introduce surprise or link to a following comment.

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Structure · 形

[Noun] + など／なんか／なんて ; [Plain clause] + なんて

Examples · 例文

  • お酒なんか飲みたくない。

    Osake nanka nomitakunai.

    I don't want to drink anything like alcohol.

    なんか belittles お酒, adding a dismissive 'stuff like alcohol' nuance.

  • 私など、まだまだ勉強不足です。

    Watashi nado, madamada benkyou busoku desu.

    Someone like me still has a lot to learn.

    など here lowers the speaker humbly — 'the likes of me'.

  • 彼が嘘をつくなんて、信じられない。

    Kare ga uso o tsuku nante, shinjirarenai.

    I can't believe he would tell a lie!

    なんて attaches to a whole clause to express shock/disbelief at the idea.

Usage notes · 注意

  • Politeness/register: など (neutral, can be formal), なんか (casual speech), なんて (casual, adds emotion or precedes a comment).
  • Often pairs with negative or emotional predicates (〜たくない, 〜信じられない).
  • With oneself it becomes humble; with others or objects it becomes dismissive/contemptuous — tone decides.
  • なんて can also mean 'called/named' informally before nouns.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～など／～なんか／～なんて is tested against.

vs～くらい／ぐらい

くらい downplays by showing a minimal degree ('at least this much'); など/なんか/なんて downplay by expressing dismissal or contempt toward the item itself.

vs～とか

とか lists non-exhaustive examples neutrally; なんか/など add an evaluative, often belittling attitude rather than just 'examples such as'.

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