Level 3 · Intermediate
Question words meaning "any/every"
什么/谁/哪儿 + 都/也 + (不/没) + Verb · Traditional: 什麼/誰/哪兒 + 都/也 + (不/沒) + Verb
Put 都 or 也 after a question word and it stops asking — it means "every/any": 我什么都想吃 "I want to eat everything", 他谁都认识 "he knows everyone". The question word + 都 chunk comes BEFORE the verb, even when it's logically the object.
With 不 or 没 it flips to "none at all": 我什么也不想说 "I don't want to say anything", 昨天我哪儿都没去 "I didn't go anywhere yesterday". 都 and 也 are interchangeable here; 也 is slightly more common in negatives.
Examples
我什么都想吃。
我什麼都想吃。
wǒ shén me dōu xiǎng chī
I want to eat everything.
他谁都认识。
他誰都認識。
tā shéi dōu rèn shi
He knows everyone.
昨天我哪儿都没去。
昨天我哪兒都沒去。
zuó tiān wǒ nǎr dōu méi qù
I didn't go anywhere yesterday.
我什么也不想说。
我什麼也不想說。
wǒ shén me yě bù xiǎng shuō
I don't want to say anything.
Common mistakes
✗ 我想吃什么都。
✓ 我什么都想吃。
The question word + 都 chunk moves in front of the verb.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: The Farmer and the Rabbit · The Shield and the Spear — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
