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](measure_word "wikilink")
and [used with 都 (dōu)](Emphasizing_quantity_with_"dou" "wikilink") in
a complete sentence.

<div class="jiegou">
每 + Measure Word + Noun + 都

</div>
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
--------

<div class="liju">
-   <em>每</em> 个 菜 <strong>都</strong>
    好吃。<span class="pinyin"><em>Měi</em> gè cài <strong>dōu</strong>
    hěn hǎochī.</span><span class="trans">Every dish is
    delicious.</span>
-   你 <em>每</em> 个 人 <strong>都</strong> 认识
    吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>měi</em> gè rén <strong>dōu</strong>
    rènshi ma? </span><span class="trans">Do you know every person?
    </span>
-   老板 <em>每</em> 个 月 <strong>都</strong>
    出差。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>měi</em> gè yuè
    <strong>dōu</strong> chūchāi.</span><span class="trans">The boss
    goes on business trips every month.</span>
-   他 <em>每</em> 天 <strong>都</strong> 不 吃
    早饭。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>měi</em> tiān <strong>dōu</strong>
    bù chī zǎofàn.</span><span class="trans">Every morning he skips
    breakfast.</span>
-   他 <em>每</em> 年 <strong>都</strong> 来
    中国。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>měi</em> nián <strong>dōu</strong>
    lái Zhōngguó.</span><span class="trans">He comes to China every
    year.</span>
-   我 <em>每</em> 个 星期 <strong>都</strong> 给 妈妈
    打电话。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>měi</em> gè xīngqī
    <strong>dōu</strong> gěi māma dǎ
    diànhuà.</span><span class="trans">I give mom a phone call every
    week.</span>
-   这个 班 的 <em>每</em> 个 学生 <strong>都</strong> 很
    聪明。<span class="pinyin">Zhège bān de <em>měi</em> gè xuéshēng
    <strong>dōu</strong> hěn cōngming.</span><span class="trans">Each of
    the students in this class are very smart.</span>
-   老师 <em>每</em> 天 <strong>都</strong> 给 我们 很多
    作业。<span class="pinyin">Lǎoshī <em>měi</em> tiān
    <strong>dōu</strong> gěi wǒmen hěn duō
    zuòyè.</span><span class="trans">Every day the teacher gives us a
    lot of homework.</span>
-   我们 <em>每</em> 周 <strong>都</strong> 要
    开会。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>měi</em> zhōu
    <strong>dōu</strong> yào kāihuì.</span><span class="trans">Every
    week we need to have a meeting.</span>
-   他们 <em>每</em> 个 周末 <strong>都</strong> 去
    公园。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>měi</em> gè zhōumò
    <strong>dōu</strong> qù gōngyuán.</span><span class="trans">Every
    weekend they go to the park.</span>

</div>
See also
--------

-   [Expressing "every time" with "mei" and
    "dou"](Expressing_"every_time"_with_"mei"_and_"dou" "wikilink")
-   [Measure words for counting](Measure_words_for_counting "wikilink")
-   [Measure words for verbs](Measure_words_for_verbs "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second
    Edition](Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition "wikilink") (p.
    19)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")
[Category:Measure Words](Category:Measure_Words "wikilink")