Expressing "every" with question words

"谁 都" (shéi dōu) is a pattern used to express "everyone" in Chinese. The placement of the question word 谁 is very similar to the way 什么 (shénme) can be used to express "every", along with other question words like 哪儿 (nǎr) and 多少 (duōshǎo).

Stucture

谁 + 都 + Verb Phrase

Examples

• 谁 都 能 学 汉语。Shéi dōu néng xué Hànyǔ. Everyone can study Chinese.
• 谁 都 知道 他 做 了 什么。Shéi dōu zhīdào tā zuò le shénme.Everyone knows what he did.
• 谁 都 想 找 一 个 好 工作。Shéi dōu xiǎng zhǎo yī gè hǎo gōngzuò. Everyone wants to find a good job.
• 谁 都 见 过 美女。Shéi dōu jiàn guo měinǚ. Everyone has seen beautiful girls.
• 谁 都 喜欢 美食。Shéi dōu xǐhuan měishí. Everyone likes delicious food.

Other Question Word with "都"

This pattern also works with other question words, such as 哪儿 (nǎr) and 什么时候 (shénme shíhou). In these cases, 哪儿 (nǎr) would mean "everywhere," 什么时候 (shénme shíhou) would mean "whenever." Besides, 多少 (duōshao) and 怎么 (zěnme) also work with "都" in this case.

Structures

哪儿 / 哪里 + 都 + Verb Phrase

什么 时候 + 都 + Verb Phrase

多少 (+ noun) + 都 + Verb Phrase

怎么 + 都 + Verb Phrase

Examples

• 我 太 累 了，哪儿 都 不 想 去。Wǒ tài lèi le, nǎr dōu bù xiǎng qù. I'm too tired. I don't want to go anywhere.
• 你 家 太 乱 了 ， 哪儿 都 是 脏 衣服 。Nǐ jiā tài luàn le, nǎr dōu shì zāng yīfu. Your place is so messy. Dirty clothes is everywhere.
• 你 什么 时候 来 都 行 。 Nǐ shénme shíhou lái dōu xíng. You can come anytime.
• 多少 钱 都 买 不到 这个 东西 。 Duōshao qián dōu mǎi bùdào zhège dōngxi. You can't buy this thing at any price.
• 我 想 怎么 做 都 可以 吗 ？ Wǒ xiǎng zěnme zuò dōu kěyǐ ma? Is it OK if I do however I want?

See also

• Expressing "All" with "shenme dou"
• Expressing "Every" with "mei" and "dou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 286-8) →buy