Learn Hardcore Chinese: dàjiā dōu jiào tā xiǎolǐ.

In real speech and writing, 大家都… is extremely common. Omitting 都 is possible, but you will hear 大家都 so often that it almost feels like a fixed pattern.

Why is the word order 大家都叫她小李 and not something like 大家都叫小李她?

Chinese uses a fairly fixed pattern here:

Subject + (Adverb) + Verb + Person + Name / Title

So:

大家都 – subject + adverb
叫 – verb “to call (someone something)”
她 – the person being called
小李 – the name you call her

Compare with English: “Everyone calls her Xiao Li.”

You say “call her Xiao Li,” not “call Xiao Li her.”
Chinese mirrors that: 叫她小李, not 叫小李她.

So 大家都叫她小李 is the natural order: > Everyone all call-her Xiao-Li.

What exactly does 叫 (jiào) mean in this sentence? Is it the same 叫 as in “to be called” for names?

Yes, it’s the same verb 叫, but used in a different pattern.

Common uses of 叫:

“to be called / to be named”
- 她叫小李。 – “She is called Xiao Li.” / “Her name is Xiao Li.”
  (Pattern: Subject + 叫 + Name)
“to call (someone) [a name] / to address (someone) as”
- 大家都叫她小李。 – “Everyone calls her Xiao Li.”
  (Pattern: Subject + 叫 + Person + Name)
“to call / shout / summon”
- 叫他过来。 – “Call him over.”
- 叫出租车。 – “Call a taxi.”

In your sentence, it’s use (2):
叫 + 她 + 小李 = “call her ‘Xiao Li’.”

Why is 她 (tā) placed before 小李 (Xiǎolǐ)? What is the grammar pattern here?

The verb 叫 here takes two objects:

The person you are calling
The name or title you’re calling them

So the pattern is:

叫 + [Person] + [Name / Title]

Examples:

我都叫他老王。 – I always call him “Old Wang.”
老师叫我们小朋友。 – The teacher calls us “little friends.”

In your sentence:

叫 – to call
她 – the person
小李 – the name

So 叫她小李 = “call her Xiao Li.”
Putting 小李 before 她 (叫小李她) would be ungrammatical.

What is the difference between 她叫小李 and 大家都叫她小李?

她叫小李。
- Literally: “She is called Xiao Li.”
- Usual meaning: her (given) name is Xiao Li.
- Focus: her official or normal name.
大家都叫她小李。
- Literally: “Everyone all calls her Xiao Li.”
- Usual meaning: that’s what people call her (a nickname or common way of addressing her).
- Focus: other people’s way of addressing her.

So:

她叫小李 is about what her name is.
大家都叫她小李 is about what people call her, which might be:
- a nickname (e.g., maybe her full name is 李小芬, but everyone calls her 小李), or
- just emphasizing how other people refer to her.

What’s the difference between 她是小李 and 她叫小李?

They can both translate as “She is Xiao Li,” but the focus is different:

她是小李。
- Literally: “She is Xiao Li.”
- Used when you are identifying her as the person named Xiao Li, often in context:
  - “Which one is Xiao Li?”
    – 她是小李。 – “She is Xiao Li.”
她叫小李。
- Literally: “She is called Xiao Li.”
- Used to tell someone her name:
  - “What’s her name?”
    – 她叫小李。 – “Her name is Xiao Li.”

So in your original sentence:

You must use 叫 (call), because the structure is about what others call her:
- 大家都叫她小李。 – “Everyone calls her Xiao Li,”
  not “Everyone is Xiao Li.”

What does the 小 (xiǎo) in 小李 (Xiǎolǐ) mean? Is it literally “small”?

Literally, 小 means “small / little,” but in names and address forms it often functions as a familiar prefix:

小 + surname → a casual, friendly way to address someone, often:
- younger than you, or
- junior in position, or
- just someone you’re close to.

So:

小李 ≈ “Xiao Li,” “Little Li,” or “young Li” (no perfect English equivalent).
Common patterns:
- 小王, 小张, 小陈, etc.

Usage notes:

It’s usually used by others about the person, not by the person about themselves in formal contexts.
It feels colloquial and familiar, not very formal.
It does not always literally refer to size; it’s more social/affective (“younger / junior / dear old so‑and‑so”).

So 大家都叫她小李 suggests a familiar, maybe friendly way that people address her.

Could we say 大家都叫小李 without 她? Would it mean the same thing?

No, 大家都叫小李 would be interpreted differently and is usually wrong or very strange.

大家都叫她小李。 – “Everyone calls her Xiao Li.”
- 叫 + 她 + 小李 = “call her ‘Xiao Li’.”
大家都叫小李。 – “Everyone is called Xiao Li.” / “Everyone’s name is Xiao Li.”
- Here it reads as 大家都叫 + 小李 = “everyone is called ‘Xiao Li’.”

Because 叫 + Name on its own usually means “to be called X (name)”, removing 她 changes the grammar and the meaning.

So you need 她 in this sentence to show who is being called “Xiao Li.”

How is 小李 (Xiǎolǐ) actually pronounced with tones in real speech?

The dictionary tones are:

小 – third tone (xiǎo)
李 – third tone (lǐ)

But in normal speech, when you have two third tones in a row, the first one changes to a second tone (tone sandhi rule):

小李 is pronounced xiáo lǐ (2nd tone + 3rd tone)
Often written still as xiǎo lǐ, but pronounced as if xiáo lǐ.

So, full sentence in natural speech:

大家都叫她小李。
- Pinyin (underlying tones): dàjiā dōu jiào tā xiǎo lǐ
- Actual pronunciation: dàjiā dōu jiào tā xiáo lǐ

Is 大家 (dàjiā) the same as 每个人 (měi ge rén)? Could I say 每个人都叫她小李?

They are very close in meaning, but with small differences:

大家
- Literally: “big family,” but means “everyone / all of us / you all.”
- Very common, slightly more colloquial and flexible.
- Often used as a way to address a group: “大家好！” – “Hello, everyone!”
每个人
- Literally: “every person / everyone.”
- A bit more explicitly individual (“each single person”).

In your sentence:

大家都叫她小李。 – very natural.
每个人都叫她小李。 – also correct, with a slight emphasis on each individual person calling her that.

Both are fine here; 大家都叫她小李 is probably more common in casual conversation.

Does 都 (dōu) always need a plural subject like 大家, or can it be used with singular words too?

都 always implies more than one thing or person, but that can be:

Explicitly plural:
- 我们都知道。 – We all know.
- 他们都来了。 – They all came.
- 大家都叫她小李。 – Everyone calls her Xiao Li.
Or a phrase that implies multiple items:
- 每个人都知道。 – Everyone (each person) knows.
- 这些书我都看过。 – I’ve read all these books.
- 他和他姐姐都去了。 – He and his older sister both went.

So 都 itself doesn’t have to follow a grammatically plural noun, but its subject (or focus) must refer to multiple entities.

In 大家都叫她小李, 大家 already means “everyone,” so 都 fits perfectly.

Are there more formal ways to say “call her Xiao Li” instead of using 叫?

Yes. 叫 is common and colloquial. More formal or specific verbs include:

称呼 (chēnghu) – “to address (someone) as”
- 大家都称呼她为小李。 – Everyone addresses her as Xiao Li.
- 称呼她小李 is also possible.
叫做 (jiàozuò) – “to be called / to be named” (more formal than plain 叫)
- 她叫做小李。 – She is called Xiao Li.
- Not normally used with a separate subject “everyone” calling her something.
管…叫 (guǎn … jiào) – “to call (someone) [something] / to refer to … as …”
- 大家都管她叫小李。 – Everyone calls her Xiao Li.
- Slightly colloquial, but common.

Your original 大家都叫她小李 is perfectly natural, everyday Mandarin. The alternatives just adjust tone and formality.