[Serie: All About Japanese Particles]
1. Indicates a non-exhaustive list of items or actions: “suck things as.”
Note: Dano, a colloquial usage, is similar to yara and to ka.
クリスマスには、友達から本だの、カレンダーだの、チョコレートだのをもらいました。
Kurisumasu ni wa, tomodachi kara hon dano, karendā dano, chokorēto dano o moraimashita.
At Christmas, I received from friends a book, a calendar, some chocolates, and other such things.
学生のときは、ショパンだのリストだののピアノ曲をよく弾きました。
Gakusei no toku wa, Shopan dano Risuto dano no piano kyoku o yoku hikimashita.
When I was a student, I played a lot of piano pieces by suck composers as Chopin and Liszt.
2. Used for a pair of opposite actions or states (either opposite words or the positive and negative form of the same word)
行くだの行かないだのと言わないで、どちらかに決めてください。
Iku dano ikanai dano to iwanai de, dochira ka ni kimete kudasai.
Stop saying that you will go, and then that you won’t go, make up your mind one way or the other.
オーストラリアは、今寒いだの、熱いだのという人がいて、どちらなのかわかりません。
Ōsutoraria wa, ima samui dano, atsui dano to iu hito ga ite, dochira na no ka wakarimasen.
Since some people say Australia is cold now, and some say it’s hot, I’m not sure which it is.
– Source: All about particles – A handbook of Japanese function words –
