每 (Every) with 都 | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

English "every" is a lone wolf: every student passed, and you are done. Chinese normally works in pairs. The word 每 (měi, "every/each") introduces the set at the front, and then, before the verb, the adverb 都 (dōu, "all") echoes back and sweeps it up: 每个学生都有一本书 ("every student has a book"). That echo — the 每…都 frame — is the natural way to say "every X does Y," and once it becomes a reflex, a whole family of universal statements falls out of it. Two things to master here: how 每 combines with the noun (it takes a measure word, like a number), and why 都 is almost always waiting downstream.

每 takes a measure word — like a number

每 sits in the same slot as a number, so with a countable noun it needs a measure word in between, exactly as 这/那/哪 do. "Every person" is 每个人, "each book" is 每本书 — never 每人 as a full count or 每书. Match the measure word to the noun just as you would after 三 or 这.

每个人都有自己的缺点。

měi ge rén dōu yǒu zìjǐ de quēdiǎn

Everyone has their own flaws. (neutral) — 每 + 个 + 人; 都 echoes before the verb.

这里每一本书我都读过。

zhèlǐ měi yì běn shū wǒ dōu dú guo

I've read every single book here. (informal) — 每一本 adds the number 一 for emphasis: 'every one book'.

You can slip a 一 (yī) in after 每 — 每一个, 每一本 — which adds a shade of "every single one," a little more emphatic and exhaustive than the plain 每个. It is optional; 每个 and 每一个 mean the same thing, the second just leans on the "not one excepted" feeling.

Time nouns take no measure word: 每天, 每年

A small but crucial exception: certain time nouns are self-measuring and take no measure word after 每. The big ones are 天 (tiān, "day"), 年 (nián, "year") and 周 (zhōu, "week"): 每天 ("every day"), 每年 ("every year"), 每周 ("every week"). But 星期 ("week") and 月 ("month") behave differently — 星期 needs 个 (每个星期), and 月 goes either way (每月 or 每个月 are both fine).

我每天都喝一杯咖啡。

wǒ měi tiān dōu hē yì bēi kāfēi

I have a cup of coffee every day. (informal) — 每天, no measure word; 都 before the verb.

他每年都回老家过年。

tā měi nián dōu huí lǎojiā guònián

He goes back to his hometown for the New Year every year. (neutral) — 每年 needs no measure word.

每个星期我们都开一次会。

měi ge xīngqī wǒmen dōu kāi yí cì huì

We have a meeting once every week. (neutral) — 星期 does need 个, unlike 天/年.

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Learn the "no-measure-word" time nouns as a short list — 天, 年, 周 (and 分钟, 小时 for durations) — and treat everything else as needing a measure word. When in doubt, 个 is safe: 每个月, 每个星期, 每个人.

The 每…都 frame: why 都 echoes back

Here is the heart of the topic. When 每 quantifies the subject of the sentence, 都 is essentially obligatory before the verb. The reason is that 都 is the adverb that means "in every case, all of them" — it is the piece that actually distributes the predicate across the whole set. 每 announces "we're talking about the whole set"; 都 then confirms "and the verb applies to each member." Drop it and the sentence sounds unfinished to a native ear, like starting "every one of them…" and trailing off.

每个孩子都想要那个玩具。

měi ge háizi dōu xiǎng yào nà ge wánjù

Every child wants that toy. (informal) — 都 is what makes it 'all of them, each one'.

她说的每句话我都记得。

tā shuō de měi jù huà wǒ dōu jìde

I remember every word she said. (neutral) — even when 每 is inside the object, 都 still lands before the verb, matched to the subject 我.

每次见到你，我都很开心。

měi cì jiàn dào nǐ, wǒ dōu hěn kāixīn

Every time I see you, I'm happy. (informal, warm) — 每次…都 is an extremely common 'every time … , … always' pattern.

Notice in the second and third examples that 都 does not sit next to 每 — it sits next to the verb, matched to whatever the subject is. That is because 都 is an adverb of the predicate, not a modifier of 每. Its position is fixed just before the verb phrase; 每 can be up front in the subject or buried inside the object, but 都 waits at the verb.

When can 都 be dropped?

Honesty matters here, because textbooks often overstate the rule. 都 is near-obligatory when 每 quantifies the subject (每个人都…). But when 每 modifies an adverbial time expression — 每天, 每周, 每次 used as "every day / weekly / each time" — 都 becomes optional. 我每天跑步 ("I run every day") is perfectly grammatical without 都; adding it (我每天都跑步) simply emphasises "every single day, without exception."

我每天跑步。

wǒ měi tiān pǎobù

I run every day. (informal) — a plain statement of routine; 都 is not required here.

我每天都跑步，一天也没停过。

wǒ měi tiān dōu pǎobù, yì tiān yě méi tíng guo

I run every single day — I haven't skipped one. (informal) — 都 adds the 'without a single exception' emphasis.

So the safe habit for a learner is: whenever 每 is your subject, put 都 in. With an adverbial 每天/每周, you may include 都 for emphasis or leave it out for a neutral routine. When you are unsure, including 都 is never wrong.

每 vs 各: not the same "each"

There is a second word, 各 (gè), that English also translates as "each," and beginners mix them up. Keep them separate: 每 with 都 means "every X does the same thing" — it sweeps the whole set into one shared statement. 各 (covered fully on the 各 page) means "each one respectively / on its own," stressing that the members differ, and it does not take 都. Compare 每个人都有一个答案 ("everyone has an answer" — all of them, uniformly) with 各有各的答案 ("each has their own answer" — different ones). Use 每…都 for uniform universals; save 各 for "respectively / various."

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping 都 when 每 is the subject. The sentence sounds unfinished without the echoing 都.

❌ 每个学生有一本书。

Incomplete-sounding — with 每 in the subject, native speakers want 都 before the verb.

✅ 每个学生都有一本书。

měi ge xuésheng dōu yǒu yì běn shū

Every student has a book. — 都 completes the 每…都 frame.

2. Forgetting the measure word after 每 with a countable noun. 每 needs a measure word just like a number.

❌ 每人都要带护照。

Marginal in careful speech — 每人 exists as a set phrase, but the fuller form wants a measure word.

✅ 每个人都要带护照。

měi ge rén dōu yào dài hùzhào

Everyone has to bring a passport. — 每个人, with the measure word 个.

3. Putting a measure word on the self-measuring time nouns. 天, 年, 周 take none.

❌ 每个天我都很忙。

Incorrect — 天 needs no measure word; 每个天 is wrong.

✅ 每天我都很忙。

měi tiān wǒ dōu hěn máng

I'm busy every day. — 每天, no measure word.

4. Placing 都 next to 每 instead of before the verb. 都 is a predicate adverb; it belongs just before the verb, matched to the subject.

❌ 每都个人喜欢她。

Word-order error — 都 does not attach to 每; it sits before the verb.

✅ 每个人都喜欢她。

měi ge rén dōu xǐhuan tā

Everyone likes her. — 都 immediately before the verb 喜欢.

5. Using 每 where you mean 'each, respectively' — that's 各. For members that differ, use 各, not 每…都.

✅ 我们各有各的看法。

wǒmen gè yǒu gè de kànfǎ

Each of us has our own view. — 各, because the views differ; 每…都 would wrongly imply everyone holds the same view.

Key Takeaways

每 (every/each) takes a measure word like a number: 每个人, 每本书 — except the self-measuring time nouns 天 / 年 / 周, which take none (每天, 每年, 每周).
The signature pattern is 每…都: 都 (dōu, "all") echoes before the verb and is what actually distributes the predicate across the whole set.
都 is near-obligatory when 每 is the subject; it is optional with an adverbial 每天/每周, where it adds "without exception" emphasis. When unsure, include it.
都 sits just before the verb, matched to the subject — never glued to 每.
Use 每…都 for "every X does the same thing"; use 各 for "each respectively," which does not take 都.

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