Expressing "not even one"

In English we might want to say something like "I have absolutely no money, not even one penny." Expressing that "not even one" can take one of several forms, all of which are common in everyday Chinese.

Basic Pattern

Structure

This structure is usually used for emphasizing how little of something there is. The measure word in the middle of the sentence and the noun should be compatible with the verb at the end.

一 + Measure Word + Noun + [也 / 都] + [不 / 没] + Verb

Examples

• 他 一 句 话 都 没 说 。 Tā yī jù huà dōu méi shuō.He didn't say a thing.
• 他 一 句 中文 都 不 会 说 。 Tā yī jù Zhōngwén dōu bù huì shuō.He can't speak one sentence of Chinese.
• 为什么 这里 一 个 人 都 没有 ？ Wèishénme zhèlǐ yī gè rén dōu méiyǒu? Why is there not a single person here?
• 我 一 口 都 没 吃 。 Wǒ yī kǒu dōu méi chī.I haven't had a single bite.
• 来 上海 以前 ， 他 一 个 外国 朋友 都 没有 。 Lái Shànghǎi yǐqián, tā yī gè wàiguó péngyou dōu méiyǒu.He didn't have a single foreign friend before coming to Shanghai.
• 她 一 瓶 可乐 也 没 喝 。 Tā yī píng kělè yě méi hē.She didn't drink a single bottle of cola.
• 我 一点 消息 都 不 知道 。 Wǒ yī diǎn xiāoxi dōu bù zhīdào.I don't know a single thing.

Advanced Pattern

Structure

If you want to put the topic of your conversation at the beginning of the sentence, make sure the comment which follows has a strong emphasis or some kind of extreme quality.

Topic + Subj. + 一 + Measure Word + Noun + [也 / 都] + Verb

Examples

• 这个 人 我 一 次 也 没 见 过 。 Zhège rén wǒ yī cì yě méi jiàn guo.I've never met this person even once.
• 这样 的 菜 我 一 次 也 没 吃 过 。Zhèyàng de cài wǒ yī cì yě méi chī guo.I've never eaten this kind of food before.
• 这 次 活动 我们 公司 一个 人 也 没 参加 。 Zhè cì huódòng wǒmen gōngsī yī gè rén yě méi cānjiā.Not one person in our company has participated in this activity.

See also

• Expressing "not at all" with "yidianr ye bu"
• Expressing "even" with "lian" and "dou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• HSK Standard Course 3 (pp. 4) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 153) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 37 - 9) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

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