Expressing "every" with question words

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"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 想 去。Wǒ tài lèi le, nǎr dōu xiǎng qù. I'm too tired. I don't want to go anywhere.
  • 哪里 .
  • 什么 时候 In America, everyone knows Obama.
  • 怎么 Everyone likes to look at beautiful girls.


See also

Sources and further reading

Books