How to Say “All” & “Both” with 都 (dōu)
都 (dōu) means “all” — and “both”, and (with a negative) “neither”. The catch: it goes AFTER the subject, never up front like English “all”.
Why this trips learners up
English lets you open a sentence with “all”: “All of us are coming.” So when you learn that 都 (dōu) means “all” in Chinese, the instinct is to drop it up front — 都我们来. Almost every beginner does it, and it's the placement teachers correct over and over.
都 is an adverb, and Chinese adverbs sit after the subject, right before the verb: 我们都来. One more surprise — Chinese has no separate word for “both” or “neither”. 都 covers them all: with two people it reads as “both”, and with a negative verb it becomes “neither”. Same little word, three English translations.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
wǒmen 我们 Subject dōu 都 Pattern è 饿 Adjective le 了 Function word
We're all hungry.
tāmen 他们 Subject dōu 都 Pattern xǐhuan 喜欢 Verb zhè shǒu gē 这首歌 Object
They all like this song.
wǒ jiějie hé wǒ mèimei 我姐姐和我妹妹 Subject dōu 都 Pattern jiéhūn 结婚 Verb le 了 Function word
Both my sisters are married.
wǒ hé wǒ shìyǒu 我和我室友 Subject dōu 都 Pattern bú 不 Negation huì 会 Function word zuòfàn 做饭 Verb
Neither my roommate nor I can cook.
nǐmen 你们 Subject dōu 都 Pattern kàn 看 Verb guò 过 Function word zhè bù diànyǐng 这部电影 Object ma 吗 Question
Have you all seen this movie?
zhè jǐ jiā fànguǎn 这几家饭馆 Subject zhōumò 周末 Time dōu 都 Pattern méi 没 Negation yǒu 有 Verb wèizi 位子 Object
None of these restaurants have a free table on weekends.
Common mistakes
Why it happens: English front-loads “all”, so 都我们 feels natural — but 都 is an adverb, and Chinese adverbs go after the subject and before the verb. Always 我们都…, never 都我们….
Why it happens: 都 sums up something to its left, not its right. To say you've been to all these cities, the cities come first: 这些城市我都去过. Lead with 我 and 都 has nothing plural to point back to.
Why it happens: When “also” (也) and “all” (都) appear together, 也 comes first: 也都. So it's 他们也都来了 — “they all came too” — never 都也.
Compare & contrast
| 都不 — none / neither | 不都 — not all | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 他们都不抽烟。tāmen dōu bù chōuyān. | 他们不都抽烟。tāmen bù dōu chōuyān. | 都 then 不 = “all → not” = nobody does it. Flip them — 不 then 都 = “not → all” = not everybody (so, some do). |
| 这些题我都不会。zhèxiē tí wǒ dōu bú huì. | 这些题我不都会。zhèxiē tí wǒ bù dōu huì. | 都不会 means you can't do a single one. 不都会 means you can't do all of them — i.e. you can do some. |
Try it yourself
Say “They are all students” — tap the words into the right order.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Say “All” & “Both” with 都 (dōu) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.