Expressing "all" with "suoyou"

In this grammar structure, we learn about a way to say "all of" something. Sort of like how we might say "all the king's men" or "all the money in the world."

Structure

"所有的⋯⋯ 都⋯⋯" (suǒyǒude... dōu...) is a pattern used to refer to "all" of a noun, with the quantity of said noun usually being fairly large. You may notice that the “的” after “所有” is occasionally omitted.

所有的 + Noun + 都 + Predicate

Examples

• 我 爱 吃 所有的 中国 菜 。Wǒ ài chī suǒyǒu de Zhōngguó cài.I love eating all the Chinese food.
• 他 记得 所有 人 的 生日 。Tā jìde suǒyǒu rén de shēngrì.He remembers everyone's birthday.
• 这里 所有 的 女孩 都 没 上 过 学 。Zhèlǐ suǒyǒude nǚhái dōu méi shàng guò xué.All of the girls here have never gone to school.
• 不 是 所有的 美国 人 都 爱 喝 咖啡 。Bù shì suǒyǒu de Měiguó rén dōu ài hē kāfēi.Not all the Americans like drinking coffee.
• 我们 部门 所有的 员工 都 会 说 英文 。Wǒmen bùmén suǒyǒu de yuángōng dōu huì shuō Yīngwén.All the employees from our department can speak English.
• 你们 公司 所有的 经理 都 是 男的 吗 ？Nǐmen gōngsī suǒyǒu de jīnglǐ dōu shì nán de ma?All the managers in your company are male?
• 我 看 过 所有的 迪斯尼 动画片 。Wǒ kàn guò suǒyǒu de Dísīní dònghuàpiàn.I've seen all the Disney movies.
• 他 找 了 所有 的 朋友，但是 没有 人 帮 他。 Tā zhǎo le suǒyǒu de péngyǒu, dànshì méiyǒu rén bāng tā.He went to all his friends, but nobody helped him.
• 钱 不 可能 解决 所有的 问题。Qián bù kěnéng jiějué suǒyǒu de wèntí.Money can't solve all the problems.
• 老板 让 所有的 员工 都 去 参加 这 个 会。Lǎobǎn ràng suǒyǒu de yuángōng dōu qù cānjiā zhège huì.Boss asked all the employees to attend this meeting.

See also

• Expressing "Everyone" with "shei"
• Expressing "All" with "shenme dou"
• Expressing "Every" with "mei" and "dou"
• Indicating the whole with "quan"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 283) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Contemporary Chinese 4 (当代中文4) (pp. 181) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Websites

• Chinesegrammar.info: Chinese grammar 所 (suǒ) structural particle