Question Words for “Every” and “None”

Question words like 誰 shéi谁 shéi, 哪裡 nǎlǐ哪里 nǎli and 什麼 shénme什么 shénme aren’t only for questions. Add 都 dōu after them and they mean “every”: everyone, everywhere, everything. Add a negative word too, and they mean “none”: no one, nowhere, nothing.

一 Question Words at a Glance

Here’s what each question word turns into:

Question word	With 都	With 都 + negative
誰 shéi谁 shéiwho	everyone	no one
哪裡 nǎlǐ哪里 nǎliwhere	everywhere	nowhere
什麼 shénme什么 shénmewhat	everything	nothing
什麼時候 shénme shíhòu什么时候 shénme shíhouwhen	anytime; always	never
怎麼 zěnme怎么 zěnme + Verbhow	any way	no way; not at all

二 “Every”: Question Word + 都

Question Word + 都 + Verb / Adjective

Put 都 dōu right after the question word to mean “every.”

谁shéi都dōu喜欢xǐhuan钱qián

Everyone likes money.

在zài台湾Táiwān哪里nǎli都dōu有yǒu珍珠奶茶zhēnzhū nǎichá店diàn

There are bubble tea shops everywhere in Taiwan.

我wǒ太tài饿è了le，什么shénme都dōu想xiǎng吃chī

I’m so hungry, I want to eat everything.

他tā什么时候shénme shíhou都dōu在zài看kàn手机shǒujī

He’s always on his phone.

鸡蛋jīdàn料理liàolǐ怎么zěnme做zuò都dōu好吃hǎochī

Eggs taste good no matter how you cook them.

三 “None”: Question Word + 都 + Negative

Question Word + 都 + 不 / 没 + Verb

Add a negative word after 都 dōu to mean “none.”

谁shéi都dōu没méi去过qùguò朝鲜Cháoxiǎn

No one has ever been to North Korea.

Taiwan calls North Korea 北韓 Běihán, and mainland China calls it 朝鲜 Cháoxiǎn.

哪里nǎli都dōu买mǎi不到bú dào你nǐ要yào的de花huā

You can’t find the flowers you want anywhere.

这zhè家jiā咖啡店kāfēidiàn什么shénme都dōu没méi卖mài

This café doesn’t sell anything.

如果rúguǒ你nǐ要yào找zhǎo我wǒ，我wǒ什么时候shénme shíhou都dōu沒空méi kòng

If you’re looking for me, I’m never free.

我wǒ怎么zěnme读dú都dōu读不好dú bù hǎo英文Yīngwén

No matter how I study, I just can’t get good at English.

也 works tooIn negative sentences, you’ll often hear 也 yě instead of 都 dōu. They mean the same thing: 谁也不知道 = 谁都不知道 (“No one knows”).

四 Common Mistakes

❌ 誰shéi谁shéi喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan吃chī蛋糕dàngāo

✅ 誰shéi谁shéi都dōu喜歡xǐhuān喜欢xǐhuan吃chī蛋糕dàngāo

Without 都 dōu, it’s a real question: “Who likes cake?” You need 都 dōu to get “everyone.”

❌ 我wǒ都dōu什麼shénme什么shénme想xiǎng買mǎi买mǎi

✅ 我wǒ什麼shénme什么shénme都dōu想xiǎng買mǎi买mǎi

都 dōu always comes after the question word, not before it.

❌ 我wǒ不bù什麼shénme什么shénme都dōu想xiǎng吃chī

✅ 我wǒ什麼shénme什么shénme都dōu不bù想xiǎng吃chī

The negative word goes after 都 dōu, right before the verb.

五 Practice

Tap the words below in the right order to build the sentence, then check your answer. If it’s wrong, you can try again as many times as you like, or hit “Show answer” if you get stuck. Careful: some tiles are traps and are not needed!

Question 1 of 10

“Everyone knows this song.”