Expressing "every" with "mei"

In this article we will look at the structure for saying "every" in Chinese, which is slightly more involved than just throwing in the word 每 (měi).

Structure

The pronoun 每 (měi) covers the meanings of "each" and "every." It should normally be used with a measure word and used with 都 (dōu) in a complete sentence.

Note that there are some words that don't use measure words because they themselves are already measure words. For example: 天 (tiān), 年 (nián), 周 (zhōu), 次 (cì) etc.

Examples

每个菜都好吃。
Měi gè cài dōu hěn hǎochī.
Every dish is delicious.
你每个人都认识吗？
Nǐ měi gè rén dōu rènshi ma?
Do you know every person?
老板每个月都出差。
Lǎobǎn měi gè yuè dōu chūchāi.
The boss goes on business trips every month.
他每天都不吃早饭。
Tā měi tiān dōu bù chī zǎofàn.
Every morning he skips breakfast.
他每年都来中国。
Tā měi nián dōu lái Zhōngguó.
He comes to China every year.
我每个星期都给妈妈打电话。
Wǒ měi gè xīngqī dōu gěi māma dǎ diànhuà.
I give mom a phone call every week.
这个班的每个学生都很聪明。
Zhège bān de měi gè xuéshēng dōu hěn cōngming.
Each of the students in this class are very smart.
老师每天都给我们很多作业。
Lǎoshī měi tiān dōu gěi wǒmen hěn duō zuòyè.
Every day the teacher gives us a lot of homework.
我们每周都要开会。
Wǒmen měi zhōu dōu yào kāihuì.
Every week we need to have a meeting.
他们每个周末都去公园。
Tāmen měi gè zhōumò dōu qù gōngyuán.
Every weekend they go to the park.

Expressing "every" with "mei" "每"

Structure

Examples

See also

Sources and further reading

Books