The "all" adverb "dou"
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express "all" in Chinese. It's very common to use 都 (dōu) in all sorts of sentences where we would find it unnecessary in English.
Contents
都 for "all"
Structure
Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
Remember that 都 (dōu) appears after the subject. A common mistake learners make is to put 都 (dōu) at the beginning of the sentence (as "all" often appears there in English). This isn't good Chinese - make sure you put 都 (dōu) after the subject and before the verb.
Examples
- 我们 都 爱 你 。 We all love you.
- 你们 都 认识 John 吗 ？ Do you all know John?
- 我们 都 在 上海 。 We are all in Shanghai.
- 我们 都 可以 去 吗 ？ Can we all go?
- 你们 都 用 wiki 吗 ？ Do you all use the wiki?
- 你们 都 要 冰水 吗 ？ Do you all want ice water?
都 for "both"
Chinese doesn't normally use a special word for "both" like English does. It just uses 都 (dōu) 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 here we don't translate 都 (dōu) as "all" in English; we translate it as "both," and for negative cases, we translate it as "neither."
- 我们 两 个 都 爱 你 。 The two of us both love you.
- 你们 两 个 都 学 中文 吗 ？ Do you both study 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。 My wife and I are both in Shanghai.
- 我 和 他 都 喜欢 中国 菜 。 He and I both like Chinese food.
- 你 爸爸 和 妈妈 都 是 中国 人 吗？ Are your mom and dad both Chinese?
- 我 和 我 男朋友 都 不 想 工作。 Neither my boyfriend nor I want to work.
- 我 的 儿子 和 女儿 都 不 吃 肉。 Neither my son nor my daughter eat meat.
- 他们 两 个 都 不 喝 酒。 Neither of the two of them drink alcohol.
- 你们 两 个 都 不 可以 走。 Neither of you two may leave.
