Grammar · 语法 yǔfǎ

都 · 每 · 所有

dōu · měi · suǒyǒu 每 · 所有 · quantifiers

All, every, some, many, none: 都 carries the whole quantifier system, and nearly every other word in it leans on 都 to work.

~13 min read

字源与逻辑 zìyuán yǔ luójí Etymology & The Logic of Quantifying at the Verb

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

都 read dū meant, and still means, "capital city" (首都 shǒudū). The adverb 都 dōu ("all") grew out of the capital sense: the capital is where everything gathers, and by the medieval vernacular the character was already doing duty for "altogether, in every case". Mandarin kept both readings in the one glyph: 都 dū the place where all things converge, 都 dōu the word that makes a sentence converge on totality.

The structural fact that organizes this whole page: English quantifies inside the noun phrase ("all students", "every book", "nothing"), while Mandarin prefers to quantify at the verb. 学生都来了 puts "all" (都) between subject and verb, and the noun 学生 stays bare. Even when a noun-side quantifier like 每 (every) or 所有 (all) appears, the sentence still wants 都 at the verb: 每个学生都来了, 所有的书都卖完了. The noun-side word announces the set; 都 executes the quantification.

The same verb-side logic produces Mandarin's version of "nobody" and "nothing". There is no dedicated word for "none": the language takes a question word (谁 who, 什么 what, 哪儿 where), totalizes it with 都 or 也, and negates the verb. 谁都不知道 is literally "who all not know": nobody knows. 我什么都没吃 is "I what all didn't eat": I ate nothing. Learners who look for a noun meaning "nothing" are looking in the wrong place; the zero lives in the verb phrase.

This page covers the quantity words themselves. The units used to count nouns (个, 本, 条, 张) have their own entry: 量词 measure words. The question words 多少 and 几, which double as quantity expressions, are treated in the 多少 · 几 entry.

核心结构 héxīn jiégòu Core Patterns

量化结构 liànghuà jiégòu · The quantifier skeleton 每 + MW + Noun + 都 + Verb → 每个学生都有课本 (every student has a textbook)
所有 (的) + Noun + 都 + Verb → 所有的书都卖完了 (all the books are sold out)
Subject + 都 + Verb → 我们都去 (we're all going)
疑问词 + 都/也 + (不/没) + Verb → 谁都不知道 (nobody knows) · 什么都行 (anything works)
一 + MW + (Noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 + Verb → 一个人也没来 (not a single person came)

学者洞见 xuézhě dòngjiàn · 都 is an adverb, and that explains everything

都 is grammatically an adverb, so it obeys the adverb rule: directly before the verb, after the subject. It totalizes leftward, sweeping up whatever plural thing stands before it. That is why ✗都我们去 is impossible: with nothing to its left inside the clause, 都 has nothing to quantify. It is also why the object version of "all" fronts the object: 这些菜我都喜欢 (these dishes, I like them all) moves 这些菜 before 都 so the adverb can reach it.

Once 都 is understood as "at the verb, scoping left", the co-occurrence rules stop being arbitrary. 每个学生都来了 is belt and suspenders: 每 defines the set member by member, 都 confirms at the verb that no member is missing. Standard Mandarin wants both; dropping 都 after a quantified subject is the error native ears catch first.

全称量化 quánchēng liànghuà All & Every: the Universal Quantifiers

都 dōu all, in every case: the workhorse

副词 adverb

The single most important quantity word in Mandarin. 都 stands before the verb and asserts that the predicate holds for every member of whatever is to its left: 他们都是学生 (they are all students). It also totalizes time (每次都迟到, late every time) and doubles as "even" in the 连…都 construction. Full entry: 都.

我们都喜欢吃中国菜。

Wǒmen dōu xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó cài.

We all like Chinese food.

这些书我都看过了。

Zhèxiē shū wǒ dōu kàn guo le.

I've read all of these books.

每 měi every, each one of an identical series

限定 determiner

每 walks through a set member by member: 每个人 (every person), 每本书 (every book). It requires a measure word before the noun, with a short list of exceptions that are themselves measure-like: 每天, 每年, 每次 (day, year, time). As a subject quantifier it wants 都 at the verb: 每个房间都有空调 (every room has air conditioning).

每个孩子都需要鼓励。

Měi gè háizi dōu xūyào gǔlì.

Every child needs encouragement.

我每天都跑步。

Wǒ měitiān dōu pǎobù.

I run every day.

辨析 biànxī · 每 vs. 各每 treats members as interchangeable instances: 每个学生都交了作业 (every student handed in homework, no exceptions). 各 gè stresses their separateness and variety, attaches to a smaller set of nouns, and usually skips 都: 各国有各国的国情 (each country has its own circumstances). 每 counts; 各 differentiates.

所有 · 全部 suǒyǒu · quánbù all of, the entirety of a set

限定 determiner

所有(的) + noun names the complete set up front: 所有的学生都来了 (all the students came). 所有 began as "that which is possessed" (所 + 有, what one has), and the possessive flavor survives in 我所有的钱 (all the money I have). 全部 quánbù is its close synonym, slightly more formal, happy as a standalone noun: 这是全部 (this is all of it). Both call for 都 when the phrase is the subject.

所有的座位都卖完了。

Suǒyǒu de zuòwèi dōu mài wán le.

All the seats are sold out.

他把全部时间都花在工作上。

Tā bǎ quánbù shíjiān dōu huā zài gōngzuò shàng.

He spends all his time on work.

全 · 整 quán · zhěng whole vs. entire-and-unbroken

限定 determiner

全 fuses directly onto nouns to mean "the whole": 全家 (the whole family), 全国 (the whole country), 全世界 (the whole world). 整 zhěng insists the unit is complete and uncut: 整个 (the entire), 整天 (all day long), 整整三年 (three full years). The contrast: 全班都及格了 quantifies the members (everyone in the class passed); 整个班 pictures the class as one undivided block.

全家都赞成这个决定。

Quán jiā dōu zànchéng zhège juédìng.

The whole family supports this decision.

他整天都在打游戏。

Tā zhěngtiān dōu zài dǎ yóuxì.

He plays video games all day long.

任何 rènhé any, no matter which

限定 determiner

任何 means "any whatsoever" and, true to the system, needs 都 at the verb: 任何人都可以参加 (anyone may take part), 任何问题都欢迎 (any question is welcome). It is more formal and more absolute than the question-word strategy (谁都可以), and it is the standard choice in rules, contracts, and signage: 任何情况下 (under any circumstances).

任何人都不能例外。

Rènhé rén dōu bù néng lìwài.

No one can be an exception.

有任何问题，随时问我。

Yǒu rènhé wèntí, suíshí wèn wǒ.

If you have any questions, ask me anytime.

部分量化 bùfen liànghuà Some & A Few: the Partial Quantifiers

一些 · 有的 · 有些 yīxiē · yǒude · yǒuxiē some: indefinite vs. some-of-a-set

部分 partial

一些 introduces an indefinite amount: 我买了一些水果 (I bought some fruit). 有的 and 有些 pick out a subset of a known or generic whole, and they live at the front of the sentence: 有的人喜欢，有的人不喜欢 (some people like it, some don't). The classic restriction: 有的 phrases resist the object position. Say 有的菜我不吃 (some dishes I don't eat), never ✗我不吃有的菜.

有些问题现在还不能回答。

Yǒuxiē wèntí xiànzài hái bù néng huídá.

Some questions can't be answered yet.

我想学一些新东西。

Wǒ xiǎng xué yīxiē xīn dōngxi.

I want to learn some new things.

几 + 量词 jǐ + MW a few, a handful (under ten)

部分 partial

Outside questions, 几 + measure word means "a few": 几个朋友 (a few friends), 几本书 (a few books), 前几天 (a few days ago). The same word asks "how many?" when the expected answer is small; the statement and question readings are told apart by context and intonation. The full contrast with 多少 is in the 多少 · 几 entry.

我在北京住过几年。

Wǒ zài Běijīng zhù guo jǐ nián.

I lived in Beijing for a few years.

他带了几个朋友来。

Tā dài le jǐ gè péngyou lái.

He brought a few friends along.

一点儿 · 部分 yīdiǎnr · bùfen a little (mass) · a part (of a whole)

部分 partial

一点儿 measures out a small amount of an uncountable substance: 一点儿水 (a little water), 会一点儿中文 (speaks a little Chinese). It pairs with mass nouns where 几 pairs with countables. 部分 bùfen slices a defined whole: 一部分学生 (a portion of the students), 大部分时间 (most of the time). The trap of 一点儿 vs. 有点儿 (the "a bit too…" of complaints) has its own entry: 一点儿 · 有点儿.

请给我一点儿时间。

Qǐng gěi wǒ yīdiǎnr shíjiān.

Please give me a little time.

一部分人先富起来了。

Yī bùfen rén xiān fù qǐlai le.

Some people got rich first.

多与少 duō yǔ shǎo Many & Few

很多 · 不少 hěn duō · bù shǎo many, a lot: plain and understated

数量 quantity

很多 is the everyday "many, a lot": 很多人 (many people), 很多问题 (many questions). 不少, literally "not few", says the same thing through understatement, and often carries a note of mild surprise: 他认识不少人 (he knows quite a few people). As predicates, 多 and 少 need an adverb: 人很多 (there are a lot of people), never ✗人多 as a full neutral sentence.

周末公园里人很多。

Zhōumò gōngyuán lǐ rén hěn duō.

On weekends the park is crowded.

这次旅行花了不少钱。

Zhè cì lǚxíng huā le bù shǎo qián.

This trip cost quite a bit of money.

大多数 · 少数 dàduōshù · shǎoshù the majority · the minority

数量 quantity

大多数 (the great majority) and 少数 (the few) partition a set by proportion: 大多数人都同意 (most people agree), with the majority phrase taking 都 like any near-universal. 少数 appears in the fixed civic vocabulary 少数民族 (minority nationalities, China's official term for its 55 recognized non-Han groups). The proverb-shaped 少数服从多数 (the minority defers to the majority) is the standard formula for votes.

大多数学生都通过了考试。

Dàduōshù xuésheng dōu tōngguò le kǎoshì.

Most students passed the exam.

只有少数人反对。

Zhǐyǒu shǎoshù rén fǎnduì.

Only a few people objected.

全否定 quán fǒudìng None & Nothing: Negated Universals

谁都 · 什么都 · 哪儿都 shéi dōu · shénme dōu · nǎr dōu question words as quantifiers: everyone / nothing / nowhere

疑问词 wh-quantifier

A question word plus 都 stops asking and starts quantifying. Affirmative, it means "every": 谁都认识他 (everyone knows him), 哪儿都行 (anywhere is fine). Negated, it means "none": 谁都不知道 (nobody knows), 我什么都没吃 (I ate nothing), 哪儿都不想去 (don't want to go anywhere). 也 can replace 都 in the negative versions with a slightly stronger "not even" flavor.

这件事谁都不知道。

Zhè jiàn shì shéi dōu bù zhīdào.

Nobody knows about this.

他今天什么都没说。

Tā jīntiān shénme dōu méi shuō.

He said nothing today.

一 + 量词 + 也/都 + 不/没 yī + MW + yě/dōu + bù/méi not even one: the emphatic zero

强调 emphatic

The strongest "none" in the language: put 一 + measure word (+ noun) before 也 or 都, then negate. 一个人也没来 (not a single person came), 我一分钱都没有 (I don't have a single cent), 他一句话也不说 (he won't say a single word). The 一-phrase must precede the negation; ✗没来一个人 loses the "not even" force. This is the pattern behind the textbook sentence 我一点儿也不累 (I'm not tired at all).

冰箱里一点儿吃的都没有。

Bīngxiāng lǐ yīdiǎnr chī de dōu méiyǒu.

There's nothing at all to eat in the fridge.

这个字我一次也没见过。

Zhège zì wǒ yī cì yě méi jiàn guo.

I've never once seen this character.

没有人 · 没有 + Noun méiyǒu rén there is no one who…: negative existence

存在 existential

The third route to "nobody": deny the existence of the set. 没有人来 (no one came) is literally "there-is-not person come". It is the most neutral of the three patterns, common in writing: 没有人知道答案 (no one knows the answer). The same frame scales to any noun: 没有办法 (there's no way), 没有问题 (no problem).

没有人愿意第一个发言。

Méiyǒu rén yuànyì dì yī gè fāyán.

No one wants to speak first.

都不与不都 dōu bù yǔ bù dōu 都不 vs. 不都: Where Negation Lands

辖域 xiáyù · Order decides meaning 都 + 不 → negation inside the totality → 他们都不来 (none of them are coming)
不 + 都 → negation of the totality → 他们不都来 (not all of them are coming; some are)
Same three words, opposite worlds: word order is the only difference.

学者洞见 xuézhě dòngjiàn · A logic lesson in two syllables

都不 asserts "for every one of them: not". 不都 asserts "not: for every one of them". Formal logic writes these ∀¬ and ¬∀ and spends a lecture on the difference; Mandarin encodes it purely by linear order, whichever word comes first takes the wider scope. English needs a paraphrase ("none of them" vs. "not all of them") to keep the two apart.

The same ordering logic runs through the whole adverb system: 也不 (also not) vs. 不也 (isn't it also…?), 还不 (still not) vs. 不还 (rhetorical "don't you still…"). Getting 都不 vs. 不都 right is the cleanest early test of whether a learner has internalized that Mandarin adverbs scope rightward over everything that follows them.

量化对照表 liànghuà duìzhào biǎo English Quantifier → Mandarin Pattern

English	Mandarin pattern	Example	都 needed?
all (subject)	Subj + 都	我们都去	都 is the quantifier
all the N	所有(的) N … 都	所有的书都卖完了	yes
every N	每 + MW + N … 都	每个学生都来了	yes
each (various)	各 + N	各国的代表	usually no
the whole N	全 N / 整个 N	全家 · 整个上午	often
any N	任何 N … 都	任何人都可以	yes
some (indefinite)	一些 + N	一些水果	no
some (of a set)	有的/有些 + N (fronted)	有的人喜欢	no
a few	几 + MW + N	几个朋友	no
a little (mass)	一点儿 + N	一点儿水	no
many / a lot	很多 / 不少 + N	很多人	no
most	大多数 N … 都	大多数人都同意	yes
nobody / nothing	疑问词 + 都/也 + 不/没	谁都不知道	都 or 也
not a single	一 + MW + 也/都 + 不/没	一个人也没来	也 or 都
not all	不都	他们不都来	order reversed

成语 chéngyǔ Everything and Nothing in Idioms

一无所有 yī wú suǒ yǒu to have nothing at all Literally "one/whole (一) lack (无) that-which-is-had (所有)": the components of 所有 in their original possessive sense. Cuī Jiàn's 崔健 1986 song 《一无所有》, often called the founding track of Chinese rock, turned the idiom into a generational catchphrase: 我曾经问个不休，你何时跟我走 sung by a narrator who owns nothing.

应有尽有 yīng yǒu jìn yǒu everything one could expect is there 应有 (what ought to be there) + 尽有 (is exhaustively there). The stock phrase for a well-provisioned shop or feature-complete product: 这家超市商品应有尽有 "This supermarket has everything you could want." The structural mirror of 一无所有: total presence against total absence.

不计其数 bù jì qí shù too many to count 不计 (not count) 其数 (their number). For crowds, casualties, stars, complaints: 前来参观的人不计其数 "Visitors came in uncountable numbers." Sits at the top of the quantity scale, above 很多 and 无数 (numberless) in register.

屈指可数 qū zhǐ kě shǔ countable on bent fingers, a mere handful 屈指 (bend the fingers) + 可数 (can be counted). The vivid opposite of 不计其数: so few you can tally them on one hand. 像他这样的人才屈指可数 "Talents like him can be counted on one hand." Note 数 here is shǔ (to count), the verb reading, against shù (number) in 不计其数.

面面俱到 miàn miàn jù dào every aspect attended to 面面 (side after side, the doubling itself a quantifier) + 俱到 (all reached). Praise for thoroughness that covers every angle, and, with a slight edge, criticism of work so evenly spread it lacks a point: 报告写得面面俱到，但没有重点 "The report covers everything and emphasizes nothing."