（都 means “all, both”）
哈囉，大家好！ 哈啰，大家好！ Hello everyone!
I’m Grace.
Maybe you’ve learned that the Chinese adverb
“都” means “all” or “both
but I know that in many sentences,
it just doesn’t make any sense with this definition.
if you are confused about how “都” is used,
today’s video is going to help demystify it for you.
話不多說，我們現在就開始吧！ 话不多说，我们现在就开始吧！ Without further ado, let’s get started!
Let’s read some sentences first
and think about why people put 都 in them.
The first one is easy to understand,
“都” has its original meaning of “all, both”
Also, what is included can be omitted based on the context
For example,
if you want to say “I am okay with anything”,
you can say 我什麼都可以
You can also omit 我 and 什麼
and just say “都可以”.
Another example,
OK, so now we’re going to talk about the confusing part of 都.
As you know, 都 can mean "all",
but people also use it to strengthen the tone of voice
of something that is surprising, unusual, or extreme.
Because of these extremes,
often in English, you will see “even” as its translation
Let’s see some sentence patterns with this “都”
Another example,
Normally questions can be answered by teachers,
but this question is so hard
that even teachers can not solve it,
so the “都” here shows that this is unusual and surprising for the speaker.
Another sentence pattern is
Btw, there is an expression similar to this pattern,
which is 想都別想
The final one is
For example,
If you want to say “It’s already summer,
but he is still wearing a long-sleeve shirt.”
You can say
They all mean the same
but the last two sentences are just normal statements
without expressing much of the speaker’s’ feelings
However, adding “都” shows that
you think it is surprising or unusual
Another example,
Also, you can just say “這麼晚了，你還不睡啊？”,
but adding “都” shows that
you feel surprised that the person hasn’t gone to sleep yet.
OK, now let’s do a quick recap:
You can remember “都” as having two different meanings.
The first 都 means “all, both”
and what are included might be omitted based on the context.
For example,
in “什麼都可以”, “什麼” means anything,
and it can be omitted,
people often just say “都可以”
The second 都 is used to provide emphasis
and show that something is surprising, unusual, or extreme.
If the concept still seems a bit abstract to you.
I recommend you watch this video a couple more times,
I believe that in the future,
you won’t be confused by 都 anymore!
OK, after today’s lesson,
let's do some practice,
think about why “都” is used in the following sentences.
I’ve included the answers in the comment section!
Alright, that’s all for today!
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And finally,
if you would like to learn some daily Mandarin expressions,
check out my Instagram @gracemandarin
那我們就下次見囉！掰掰！ 那我们就下次见啰！掰掰！ I’ll see you next time! Bye!