都不 vs 不都: None vs Not All | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

Here is one of those rare cases where a single swap of word order flips a sentence into its opposite. Put 都 (dōu, "all") in front of 不 (bù, "not") and you get 都不 = "none"; put 不 in front of 都 and you get 不都 = "not all." 我们都不去 means "none of us are going"; 我们不都去 means "not all of us are going" (so some are). English keeps these two ideas ("none" vs "not all") in separate words, but Chinese builds both out of the same two syllables and lets order carry the whole difference. The key that unlocks it: 不 negates whatever comes right after it. Read strictly left to right and the scope falls into place every time.

The one rule: 不 negates what follows it

Chinese negation is directional — 不 casts its "not" forward, onto the word immediately behind it. So the position of 不 relative to 都 decides what gets denied:

In 都不, 不 sits after 都, so 不 negates the verb — and because 都 has already totalled the whole set, the result is "every one of them does NOT" = none.
In 不都, 不 sits before 都, so 不 negates 都 ("all") itself — "it is not the case that all" = not all (leaving room for "some do").

Form	Pinyin	Reads as	Meaning
都不去	dōu bú qù	all → not go	none go
不都去	bù dōu qù	not → all go	not all go (some do)
都不是	dōu bú shì	all → not be	none is
不都是	bù dōu shì	not → all be	not all are

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Say the Chinese order out loud in English word by word: 都不 = "all → not" = none; 不都 = "not → all" = not all. Whatever comes first has scope over what follows it. This is the same leftward-summing 都 you meet on the 都 (all/both) page — here it just meets a negator.

都不: total negation (none)

都不 stacks "all" and "not" so that the negation covers the entire set: every member does not do the thing. This is your everyday way of saying "nobody," "none of them," "not any of these."

我问了三个人，他们都不知道。

wǒ wèn le sān ge rén, tāmen dōu bù zhīdào

I asked three people, and none of them knew. (neutral) — 都不: the whole set fails to know.

这些菜我都不爱吃。

zhèxiē cài wǒ dōu bú ài chī

I don't like eating any of these dishes. (informal) — object 这些菜 fronted so 都 can total it, then 都不 negates across all of them.

我们班都不抽烟。

wǒmen bān dōu bù chōuyān

Nobody in our class smokes. (informal) — 都不 = every one of us doesn't.

不都: partial negation (not all)

不都 denies only the "all." It says the blanket statement is too strong — not everyone, not every one of them — which quietly implies that at least some do. This is the form English speakers systematically forget exists.

他们不都是学生，有几个已经工作了。

tāmen bù dōu shì xuésheng, yǒu jǐ ge yǐjīng gōngzuò le

Not all of them are students — a few already work. (neutral) — 不都是: partial, so 'some are, some aren't'.

这些苹果不都是坏的，挑一挑还能吃。

zhèxiē píngguǒ bù dōu shì huài de, tiāo yi tiāo hái néng chī

Not all these apples are bad — pick through them and some are still edible. (informal)

我的同事不都会说英语。

wǒ de tóngshì bù dōu huì shuō Yīngyǔ

Not all my colleagues speak English. (neutral) — 不都会: it isn't the case that all of them can.

The same logic: 总是不 vs 不总是

This left-to-right scope isn't special to 都 — it works the same way whenever 不 meets a "totalling" adverb. With 总是 (zǒngshì, "always"), 总是不 means "always not" (a fixed habit of not doing) while 不总是 means "not always" (sometimes yes, sometimes no).

她总是不接电话。

tā zǒngshì bù jiē diànhuà

She never picks up the phone. (informal) — 总是不 = 'always not' = a standing habit of not answering.

他不总是这么忙，今天特别赶。

tā bù zǒngshì zhème máng, jīntiān tèbié gǎn

He isn't always this busy — today is especially hectic. (informal) — 不总是 = 'not always'.

Notice the parallel: 都不 / 总是不 both put the negator second and mean "across the board, no"; 不都 / 不总是 both put the negator first and chip only at the "all/always." Same rule, different quantifier.

Common Mistakes

1. Defaulting to 都不 when you mean "not all." This is the number-one error — you reach for 都不 for every "not…all" thought and accidentally say "none."

❌ 我们都不去。

Wrong if you mean 'not all of us are going' — 都不 actually says 'none of us are going'.

✅ 我们不都去。

wǒmen bù dōu qù

Not all of us are going. — 不都 for partial negation.

2. Using 不都 when you mean "none." The mirror error: 不都 leaves room for "some do," so it can't mean "nobody."

❌ 他们不都来。

Wrong if you mean 'none of them are coming' — 不都 means 'not all of them are coming'.

✅ 他们都不来。

tāmen dōu bù lái

None of them are coming. — 都不 for total negation.

3. Putting the plural set after 都. 都 sums up what precedes it, so the group must come before 都不 / 不都.

❌ 都不我们去。

Incorrect — the set 我们 must come before 都: 我们都不去.

✅ 我们都不去。

wǒmen dōu bú qù

None of us are going. — 我们 sits before 都不.

4. Using 都不 for a completed non-event. For "none of them came" (a finished fact), the negator is 没, not 不: 都没 for a completed set.

❌ 昨天他们都不来。

Incorrect for 'none of them came yesterday' — a completed non-event takes 没: 都没来.

✅ 昨天他们都没来。

zuótiān tāmen dōu méi lái

None of them came yesterday. — 都没 for the completed set.

Key Takeaways

不 negates whatever follows it — so the position of 不 relative to 都 carries the whole meaning.
都不 = "all → not" = none (total negation): 我们都不去 = none of us go.
不都 = "not → all" = not all (partial, implies some do): 我们不都去 = not all of us go.
The same left-to-right scope governs 总是不 ("always not") vs 不总是 ("not always").
For a completed set, swap 不 for 没: 都没来 = "none came."

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