The "all" adverb "dou"

The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express "all" in Chinese. It's very common to use 都 is all sorts of sentences where we might find it unnecessary in English.

都 for "all"

Structure

Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]

Remember that 都 appears after the subject. A common mistake learners make is to put 都 at the beginning of the sentence (as "all" often appears there in English). This isn't good Chinese - make sure you put 都 after the subject.

Examples

• 我们 都 爱 你 。 We all love you.
• 你们 都 在 学 中文 吗 ？Are you all studying Chinese?
• 你们 都 认识 John 吗 ？ Do you all know John?
• 我们都 住 在 上海 。 We all live in Shanghai.
• 我们 都 可以 去 吗 ？ Can we all go?
• 他们 都 踢 足球 。They all play soccer.
• 我 和 我 父母 都 在 上海 工作。 My parents and I all work in Shanghai.
• 你们 都 在 用 wiki 吗？ Are you all using the wiki?
• 你们 都 喜欢 喝 咖啡 吗 ？ Do you all like drinking coffee?

都 for "both"

Chinese doesn't normally use a special word for "both" like English does. It just uses 都 as if it were any other number greater than one. This is actually really easy; you just have to get used to it.

Structure

[Subject which is two people or things ] + 都 + [Verb Phrase]

This pattern should look familiar!

Examples

These examples follow exactly the same form in Chinese as the ones above. The only difference is that we don't translate 都 as "all" for these in English; we translate it as "both."

• 我们 两 个 都 爱 你 。 The two of us both love you.
• 你们 两 个 都 在 学 中文 吗 ？Are both of you studying Chinese?
• 我 和 我 老公 都 是 美国 人 。My husband and I are both Americans.
• 我 和 我 太太 都 在 上海 工作。 My wife and I both work in Shanghai.
• 我 和 他 都 喜欢 中国 菜 。 He and I both like Chinese food.

See also

• "Ye" and "dou" together
• The also adverb

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 53-4) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 88) →buy