Breakdown of Wir brauchen Brot, Milch und so weiter.
wir
we
brauchen
to need
die Milch
the milk
das Brot
the bread
und so weiter
and so on
Questions & Answers about Wir brauchen Brot, Milch und so weiter.
Is there a common abbreviation for und so weiter like we have "etc." in English?
Yes! It is extremely common to abbreviate this as usw. in written German. You will see it everywhere, just like "etc." in English, but you still pronounce it as the full phrase und so weiter when reading aloud.
Why are there no articles before Brot and Milch?
Just like in English, German drops the article when talking about indefinite amounts of uncountable things like food and liquids. Since you are talking about bread and milk in a general sense, rather than a specific loaf or bottle, you leave the articles out.
What does weiter literally mean in this phrase?
The word weiter literally means "further" or "onward", so the phrase translates word-for-word as "and so further". You will often see weiter attached to verbs to express continuing an action, such as weitermachen (to carry on) or weiterlesen (to keep reading).
Do Germans ever just use etc.?
Yes, etc. is widely used in written German too. When reading it aloud, Germans pronounce it "et-tse-te-ra". However, und so weiter and its abbreviation usw. are slightly more common in everyday communication.
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