Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ juéde měige rén dōu yǒu xuǎnzé zìjǐ xiǎng ài shéi de quánlì. - I think everyone has the right to choose whom they want to love.

觉得 focuses on feelings, opinions, judgments.
- 我觉得… = “I feel / I’m of the opinion that…”
- In this sentence, 我觉得每个人都有… = “I believe / I’m of the opinion that everyone has…”.
想 is more basic and usually means:
1. to want: 我想吃东西。= I want to eat.
2. to think (mentally, to consider): 我想一想。= Let me think about it.

When expressing a personal opinion or stance on an issue (like human rights, love, etc.), 觉得 is the natural choice.
You could say 我想每个人都有选择…的权利, but it sounds more like “I suppose / I guess that…”, not like a clearly stated opinion.

What does 都 (dōu) do here with 每个 (měi ge)? Isn’t it redundant to say 每个人都?

In Chinese, it is very common and natural to combine 每 (měi, each/every) or other quantifiers with 都 (dōu):

每个人都… literally: “every person all …”
This doesn’t feel redundant to Chinese speakers; it’s the normal pattern.

Function of 都 here:

It connects the idea of “for all members of the group” to the predicate:
- 每个人都有权利。= Everyone has the right.
Without 都, the sentence is still grammatically correct:
- 我觉得每个人有选择自己想爱谁的权利。
  But 都:
- makes the statement sound more complete and natural,
- emphasizes that it applies without exception.

So 每个人都… is a very standard, idiomatic structure:
[Quantified subject] + 都 + [predicate].

Why do we need 人 (rén) after 每个 (měi ge)? Can we just say 每个都…?

每个 (měi ge) by itself means “each one”, but it normally needs a noun after it:

每个人 = each person
每个国家 = each country
每个学生 = each student

So:

✅ 我觉得每个人都有… = correct, natural
❌ 我觉得每个都有… (with no noun) is incomplete; you’d be saying “I think each one all has…”, but “each one” of what?

If the noun is extremely clear from context, Chinese sometimes drops it, but in a standalone sentence like this, you need the noun:

我觉得每个人都有选择自己想爱谁的权利。
I think every person has the right to choose whom they want to love.

How does the structure “选择自己想爱谁的权利” work? Why is the whole chunk before 权利 (quánlì)?

Chinese forms something like English relative clauses by putting the describing clause before the noun, plus 的 (de):

[clause] + 的 + [noun]

Here, the noun is 权利 (right).
The whole chunk before it is a clause that describes what kind of right:

选择　自己　想　爱　谁　的　权利
= the right [to choose whom one wants to love]

We can bracket it:

选择自己想爱谁的权利
= the right (权利) to choose whom one wants to love (选择自己想爱谁的)

Literally:

选择 = to choose
自己 = oneself
想爱谁 = whom (one) wants to love
的 = turns the preceding chunk into a modifier
权利 = right

So it’s: “the right of choosing whom you yourself want to love.”

What exactly is 的 (de) doing after 谁 (shéi)? Is it attached to 谁 or to 权利?

In writing, it looks like 谁的权利, but grammatically:

的 belongs to the whole preceding clause, not just to 谁.

Break it down:

选择自己想爱谁的权利

This matches the pattern:

[verb phrase / clause] + 的 + [noun]

So:

选择自己想爱谁 = “choose whom you want to love”
的 = nominalizer / linker, marking this as a modifier
权利 = right

Think of 的 as a bridge that turns the entire “choose whom you want to love” part into an adjective-like phrase describing 权利:

the right [to choose whom you want to love]

What does 自己 (zìjǐ) refer to here? Is it “myself” (the speaker) or “each person”?

In this sentence:

我觉得每个人都有选择自己想爱谁的权利。

自己 is a reflexive pronoun meaning “oneself”. Its reference is usually the closest appropriate subject, which here is 每个人 (everyone / each person), not 我.

So the meaning is:

“I think everyone has the right to choose whom they themselves want to love.”

If it referred to 我, it would mean something like:
“I think everyone has the right to choose whom I want to love” — which makes no sense in context.
So naturally it binds to 每个人, i.e. “each person has the right to choose whom they want to love.”

Why is 谁 (who) pronounced shéi here instead of shuí? Which is correct?

Standard dictionaries usually list 谁 as shuí, but in modern spoken Mandarin, shéi is by far the most common pronunciation in everyday speech.

So:

shuí = more “standard” / textbook / formal
shéi = normal, colloquial pronunciation; what you’ll hear most of the time

In a sentence like:

选择自己想爱谁的权利

Almost everyone will say shéi. Both are accepted, but if you want to sound natural in conversation, use shéi.

Why is it 想爱 (xiǎng ài) and not just 爱 (ài)? What’s the nuance?

爱谁 = whom (someone) loves
想爱谁 = whom (someone) wants to love / would like to love

The verb 想 here means “to want to / to desire to”, not “to think”.

Using 想爱 emphasizes:

the freedom of choice / desire: the person is free to decide whom they want to love,
rather than describing a current fact (“whom they love now”).

Compare:

选择自己爱谁的权利
= the right to choose whom one loves (sounds a bit more like the existing object of love)
选择自己想爱谁的权利
= the right to choose whom one wants to love (focus on freedom of desire and choice)

The second is very natural when talking about things like love and rights.

Could we say 有权 (yǒu quán) instead of 有…权利 (yǒu…quánlì)? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could say:

我觉得每个人都有权选择自己想爱谁。

有权 = “to have the right / to be entitled (to do something)”
It is a verb phrase by itself.

Differences:

有…权利
- 有 = to have
- 权利 = a noun, “right”
- Sounds a bit more noun-focused: “have the right (noun) to…”
有权 + [verb]
- 有权 = “have the right to” (verb phrase)
- Slightly more formal and compact: “be entitled to do X”

Both are correct and natural. Your original:

有选择自己想爱谁的权利

emphasizes “the right” as a concept.
有权选择自己想爱谁 emphasizes the action (having the right to do something).

Could we say 我觉得每个人都有权利选择自己想爱的人 instead? How does that differ from …选择自己想爱谁的权利?

Yes, this is a very natural alternative:

我觉得每个人都有权利选择自己想爱的人。

Differences in structure and nuance:

Original:
- 有选择自己想爱谁的权利
- “have the right to choose whom they want to love”
- The right is spelled out as “the right of choosing whom you want to love”.
Alternative:
- 有权利选择自己想爱的人
- “have the right to choose the person they want to love”
- The focus is more on the person (想爱的人 = “the person one wants to love”) than on the internal “who”-question.

Both basically mean the same thing in context.
Stylistically:

…谁的权利 feels slightly more abstract / formal.
…想爱的人 feels a bit more concrete / person-focused.

Why is the question word 谁 (who) inside this big phrase instead of at the end like in English? Could we say something like 选择谁自己想爱?

Chinese doesn’t move question words to the front or end like English does; question words stay where the answer would go.

Here, the clause is:

自己想爱谁 = “whom (one) wants to love”

If you answered it, you’d replace 谁 with a name:

自己想爱他。= whom one wants to love → him
So with a question word: 自己想爱谁。= whom one wants to love → who

This whole clause is then embedded inside a bigger noun phrase:

选择自己想爱谁的权利 = the right to choose whom one wants to love

选择谁自己想爱 is not grammatical; the word order is wrong for Chinese.
You must keep the pattern:

[subject] + 想 + 爱 + [object]
so with the unknown object: 想爱谁.

Is 有 (yǒu) necessary in 都有选择…的权利? What changes if we remove it or remove 都?

The core pattern is:

每个人都有… = everyone has …

Comparisons:

Full original idea:
- 我觉得每个人都有选择自己想爱谁的权利。
- Natural, standard: “I think everyone has the right…”
Without 都:
- 我觉得每个人有选择自己想爱谁的权利。
- Grammatically fine, just a bit less emphatic/idiomatic.
- Still means “I think everyone has the right…”, but 都 nicely reinforces “all of them”.
Without 有 (but keeping 都):
- 我觉得每个人都选择自己想爱谁的权利。
- This sounds wrong; 选择 here becomes the main verb (“everyone all chooses the right…”), which breaks the intended meaning.

So:

You need 有 to express “to have” the right.
都 is optional but makes the sentence sound more natural and complete.

What’s the difference between 权利 (quánlì) and 权力 (quánlì)? They sound the same; how do I know which one to use here?

They are pronounced the same (quánlì) but mean different things:

权利 (right, entitlement)
- Used for legal / moral rights that people have:
  - 人权 = human rights
  - 言论自由的权利 = the right to freedom of speech
- In your sentence, we’re talking about a personal right:
  - 选择自己想爱谁的权利 = the right to choose whom to love.
权力 (power, authority)
- Means power in the sense of control or authority:
  - 政治权力 = political power
  - 国家权力 = state power

Here we clearly mean a human right, not political power, so 权利 is the correct character.

Are there other ways to say “everyone” instead of 每个人 (měi ge rén)? Would the sentence change much?

Yes, some common alternatives are:

人人 (rénrén)
- Literally “every person / everybody”.
- Sentence:
  - 我觉得人人都有选择自己想爱谁的权利。
- Sounds a bit literary / slogan-like.
每一个人 (měi yí ge rén)
- Adds emphasis to 每个人: “every single person”.
- 我觉得每一个人都有选择自己想爱谁的权利。
大家 (dàjiā)
- Usually “everyone” present / in a group, more conversational.
- Less ideal here because this sentence sounds like a general principle, not just about the people listening. Still possible in speech:
  - 我觉得大家都有选择自己想爱谁的权利。

All of these keep the same basic meaning. 每个人都 is the most neutral and general choice here.