Difference between revisions of "Expressing "every" with "mei""

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* <em>每</em> 个 菜 <strong>都</strong> 好吃。<span class="pinyin"><em>Měi</em> gè cài <strong>dōu</strong> hěn hǎochī. </span> <span class="trans">Every dish is delicious. </span>
 
* <em>每</em> 个 菜 <strong>都</strong> 好吃。<span class="pinyin"><em>Měi</em> gè cài <strong>dōu</strong> hěn hǎochī. </span> <span class="trans">Every dish is delicious. </span>
* <em>每</em> 个 人 <strong>都</strong> 认识 吗?<span class="pinyin"><em>Měi</em> gè rén nǐ <strong>dōu</strong> rènshi ma? </span> <span class="trans">Do you know every person? </span>
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* <em>每</em> 个 人 <strong>都</strong> 认识 吗?<span class="pinyin"><em>Měi</em> gè rén nǐ <strong>dōu</strong> rènshi ma? </span> <span class="trans">Do you know every person? </span>
 
* 老板 <em>每</em> 个 月 <strong>都</strong> 要 出差。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>měi</em> gè yuè <strong>dōu</strong> yào chūchāi. </span> <span class="trans">The boss goes on business trips every month. </span>
 
* 老板 <em>每</em> 个 月 <strong>都</strong> 要 出差。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>měi</em> gè yuè <strong>dōu</strong> yào chūchāi. </span> <span class="trans">The boss goes on business trips every month. </span>
 
* 他 <em>每</em> 天 <strong>都</strong> 不 吃 早饭。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>měi</em> tiān <strong>dōu</strong> bù chī zǎofàn. </span> <span class="trans">Every morning he doesn't eat breakfast. </span>
 
* 他 <em>每</em> 天 <strong>都</strong> 不 吃 早饭。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>měi</em> tiān <strong>dōu</strong> bù chī zǎofàn. </span> <span class="trans">Every morning he doesn't eat breakfast. </span>

Revision as of 03:53, 13 February 2017

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 nǐ dōu rènshi ma? Do you know every person?
  • 老板 个 月 要 出差。Lǎobǎn měi gè yuè dōu yào chūchāi. The boss goes on business trips every month.
  • 不 吃 早饭。měi tiān dōu bù chī zǎofàn. Every morning he doesn't eat 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.
  • 你 的 个 前 女友 很 漂亮。Nǐ de měi gè qián nǚyǒu dōu hěn piàoliang. Each of your ex-girlfriends has been very beautiful.
  • 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 kāi huì. Every week we need to have a meeting.
  • 爸爸 次 出差 给 我 买 礼物。Bàba měi cì chūchāi dōu gěi wǒ mǎi lǐwù. Every time dad goes on a business trip, he buys me a present.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books