Meaning of 都
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- all; both; entirely
- (used for emphasis) even
- already
- (not) at all
- capital city
- metropolis
- surname Du
How to use 都
As the adverb dōu, 都 goes after the subject and before the verb to say that everyone or everything in the group is included. It also adds emphasis in patterns like 连...都 (even) and can mean already. Example: 我们都是学生。(Wǒmen dōu shì xuésheng.) We are all students.
The right side 阝 is a form of 邑 (yì), meaning a city or settlement. A place where everyone gathers is a capital, and in a capital you find all kinds of people, which links the two readings: dū (capital) and dōu (all).
Common mistake: Learners often put 都 before the subject, as in 都我们是学生, but it must come after the subject and before the verb: 我们都是学生. Another trap is reading 首都 as shǒudōu; in words about cities it is dū, as in 首都 (shǒudū).
都 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
都 dōu · all · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 都.
Questions about 都
What does 都 mean?
都 (dōu) means "all; both; entirely; (used for emphasis) even" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 都?
都 is made of 1 character: 都 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 都 an HSK word?
Yes. 都 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 都 and 也 in a sentence?
也 (yě) means also or too and links to something already mentioned, while 都 means all members of a group. When both appear, 也 comes first: 我们也都去 (Wǒmen yě dōu qù), We are all going too.
How does 都 work with negatives like 不 and 没?
Word order changes the meaning. 都不 (dōu bù) means none of them, as in 他们都不去 (none of them are going), while 不都 (bù dōu) means not all, as in 他们不都去 (not all of them are going).