particle N1 uncommon casualwritten
〜だの〜だの — things like ~ and ~
〜だの〜だの
Meaning
- things like ~ and ~ / ~ and ~ and all that — lists examples, often grumbled complaints, with a dismissive, exasperated tone
Key sentence
彼は高いだの遠いだのと文句ばかり言う。
He does nothing but complain — too expensive, too far, and so on.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain forms (nouns, adjectives, verbs, quoted phrases) | AだのBだの（と言う）— N/な-adj + だの, い-adj/V plain + だの | 嫌いだのまずいだの / 行くだの行かないだの |
When: Casual and written; carries an annoyed, fed-up, or dismissive attitude toward the listed items.
Examples
やれ会議だの出張だのと、最近はとても忙しい。
What with meetings and business trips and all that, I've been swamped lately.
弟は嫌いだのまずいだのと言って、野菜を食べない。
My little brother won't eat vegetables — says he hates them, says they taste bad, and so on.
When you can't use it
- Carries a negative, complaining attitude — not for a neutral list. For a plain representative list use や or とか.
Easily confused with
や や is a neutral representative list of *nouns*; だの〜だの adds a complaining/dismissive tone and freely takes adjectives, verbs, and quoted phrases. とか とか is casual and vaguer but neutral; だの〜だの specifically conveys irritation or disapproval at the items listed. 〜なり〜なり なり〜なり offers alternatives to choose from ('either ~ or ~'); だの〜だの just piles up grumbled examples, with no sense of choosing.
See 〜だの〜だの in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜だの〜だの the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.