Expressing "every" with question words

"谁也 / 都" (shéi ye/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.

Beyond 什么 (shénme)

This pattern also works with other question words, such as 哪儿 (nǎr) and 谁 (shéi). In these cases, 哪儿 (nǎr) or 哪里 (nǎlǐ) would mean "everywhere," and 谁 (shéi) would mean "everyone."

Structures

哪儿 / 哪里 + 都 + Verb Phrase

什么 时候 + 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.
• ，哪里 都 。 .
• ，什么 时候 都 。 In America, everyone knows Obama.
• 怎么 都 。 Everyone likes to look at beautiful girls.

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