Expressing "every" with "mei"

(Redirected from Pronoun "mei" for "every")

In this article we will look at the structure for saying "every" in Chinese, which is slightly more involved than just throwing in the word 每 (měi).

Structure

The pronoun 每 (měi) covers the meanings of "each" and "every." It should normally be used with a measure word and used with 都 (dōu) in a complete sentence.

每 + Measure Word + Noun + 都

Note that there are some words that don't use measure words because they themselves are already measure words. For example: 天 (tiān), 年 (nián), 周 (zhōu), 次 (cì) etc.

Examples

  • 个 菜 好吃。Měi gè cài dōu hěn hǎochī.Every dish is delicious.
  • 个 人 认识 吗?měi gè rén dōu rènshi ma? Do you know every person?
  • 老板 个 月 出差。Lǎobǎn měi gè yuè dōu chūchāi.The boss goes on business trips every month.
  • 不 吃 早饭。měi tiān dōu bù chī zǎofàn.Every morning he skips breakfast.
  • 来 中国。měi nián dōu lái Zhōngguó.He comes to China every year.
  • 个 星期 给 妈妈 打电话。měi gè xīngqī dōu gěi māma dǎ diànhuà.I give mom a phone call every week.
  • 这个 班 的 个 学生 很 聪明。Zhège bān de měi gè xuéshēng dōu hěn cōngming.Each of the students in this class are very smart.
  • 老师 给 我们 很多 作业。Lǎoshī měi tiān dōu gěi wǒmen hěn duō zuòyè.Every day the teacher gives us a lot of homework.
  • 我们 要 开会。Wǒmen měi zhōu dōu yào kāihuì.Every week we need to have a meeting.
  • 他们 个 周末 去 公园。Tāmen měi gè zhōumò dōu qù gōngyuán.Every weekend they go to the park.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books