Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 全 IN CHINESE
In Chinese, the character 全 (quán) is a common and versatile term that generally means “whole,” “complete,” or “entire.”
It is used in a variety of contexts to indicate completeness or entirety.
This lesson will focus on how to use 全 to express the concept of “the whole” or “everything.”
BASIC MEANING OF 全
全 means “whole,” “complete,” or “entire” and can be used as:
• An adjective to describe something as being complete or entire.
• An adverb to describe actions that affect the entire thing or situation.
USING 全 WITH NOUNS
When used with nouns, 全 indicates that we are referring to the whole of something, rather than just a part of it.
PATTERN
全 + Noun
全世界 (quán shì jiè) – the whole world
全世界的人都知道
Everyone in the world knows.全公司 (quán gōng sī) – the entire company
全公司都在开会
The whole company is in a meeting.全身 (quán shēn) – the whole body
他全身湿透了
His whole body is soaked.| 全世界都在关注这个新闻。 | Quán shìjiè dōu zài guānzhù zhège xīnwén. | The whole world is paying attention to this news. |
| 全公司的人都去参加了会议。 | Quán gōngsī de rén dōu qù cānjiā le huìyì. | The entire company attended the meeting. |
| 他全身湿透了。 | tā quán shēn shī tòu le | His whole body is soaked. |
| 全班同学都做了作业。 | Quán bān tóngxué dōu zuò le zuòyè. | The whole class finished the homework. |
COMPLETENESS IN ACTION
全 can also be used as an adverb to indicate that something is done “entirely” or “completely.”
PATTERN
全 + Verb
全忘了 (quán wàng le) – completely forgot
今天的考试我全忘了
I completely forgot about today’s exam.全做完了 (quán zuò wán le) – finished doing everything
作业我全做完了
I have finished all of the homeworkHOW TO USE 全…都
The structure “全…都” (quán… dōu) is a common way to emphasize that all parts or members within a specific group are involved in an action.
By placing 全 (quán) before a subject (person, group, or thing) and 都 (dōu) before the verb, the phrase emphasizes that “every part” of the specified subject is involved or affected by the action.
PATTERN
全 + Modifier + (nouns) + 都 + Verb / Verb Phrase
• 全 goes before the noun or noun modifier to highlight “entirety.”
• 都 is used before the verb to emphasize that the action applies to every part of the subject.
Examples of “全…都” with modifiers+noun or only noun modifiers as subjects
“全” is used to modify the subject in a sentence.
When the subject is a noun with modifiers (modifer +noun), such as “班 (modifer) 同学”, the sentence follows the structure: 全 + modifier+(Subject) + 都 + Verb / Verb Phrase.
PATTERN
全 + Modifier + (subject) + 都 + Verb / Verb Phrase
Sometimes, the modifier alone can function as the subject. Such as in “全家都喜欢旅游”.
| 全家都喜欢旅游 | quán jiā dōu xǐhuān lǚyóu | The whole family loves traveling. |
| 全班同学都在教室里 | quán bān tóngxué dōu zài jiàoshì lǐ | All the students in the class are in the classroom. |
| 全公司员工都参加了会议 | quán gōngsī yuángōng dōu cānjiā le huìyì | All the employees in the company attended the meeting. |
View More Examples
| 全城的人都知道了这件事 | quán chéng de rén dōu zhīdào le zhè jiàn shì | Everyone in the city knows about this. |
| 全组成员都完成了任务 | quán zǔ chéngyuán dōu wánchéng le rènwù | All the team members completed the task. |
| 全校师生都参与了活动 | quán xiào shīshēng dōu cānyù le huódòng | All the teachers and students participated in the activity. |
Examples of “全…都” with Pronouns and nouns as subjects
When it is used with pronouns, such as “我们“， ”他们“， ”你们“，”孩子们“ and nouns without modifiers such as “观众“， ”客户“， which are also the subject of the sentence, 全 and 都 are used together and after the subject.
PATTERN
Subject + 全都 + Verb + 了 + （补语）
| 我们全都同意了 | wǒmen quán dōu tóngyì le | We all agreed. |
| 他们全都参加了比赛 | tāmen quán dōu cānjiā le bǐsài | They all participated in the competition. |
| 你们全都去了 | nǐmen quán dōu qù le | You all went. |
View More Examples
| 孩子们全都睡着了 | háizimen quán dōu shuìzháo le | The children all fell asleep. |
| 观众全都站起来了 | guānzhòng quán dōu zhàn qǐlái le | The audience all stood up. |
| 客户全都反馈了意见 | kèhù quán dōu fǎnkuì le yìjiàn | All the clients gave feedback. |
When we have sentences follow this structure, “全“， ”都“ and ”全都“ are synonyms.
But when one is used instead of the others, the emphasis differentiates subtly.
For example, “他们全参加了比赛” (using only 全）emphasis on the totality of the subject “他们”（they）； “他们都参加了比赛” (using only “都”） also means “they all participated in the game”, but with the emphasis of the action “participating the game”.
Finally, “他们全都参加了比赛” （using“全都”), its meaning the same as “他们全参加了比赛” but with even more emphasis on that “everyone” participated.
In all three cases, the sentence can be translated to “They all participated in the game”, but they are subtly different due to the difference in emphasis.
全 vs 都 vs 全都
全 (quán) and 都 (dōu) both indicate totality and translates to “all”, but are not synonyms in all situations.
全 (quán)
Often used to emphasize the entirety of something and is usually placed before the noun or pronoun. It can refer to “whole” or “entire.”
In cases where you are specifically referring to the completeness of a singular entity or when describing the entirety of a single noun, 全 is more appropriate.
全书 (quán shū) – the entire book (not “都书”).
全校（quán xiào) – the entire school (not “都校“）.
都 (dōu)
Used as an adverb to emphasize that each individual in a group does something or shares a characteristic. It generally appears after the subject and before the verb.
谁都不想去 – Nobody wants to go.
很多人都喜欢他 – Many people all like him.
你都去过哪儿？- What places have you been to?
全都 (quándōu)
A combination of “全” and “都,” strengthening the meaning to express “all without exception.”
It can be used to emphasize the completeness of a group or set.
| chinese | pinyin | english | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我们全家都喜欢看电影。 | Wǒmen quán jiā dōu xǐhuan kàn diànyǐng. | Our whole family likes watching movies. | “全家” (whole family) indicates the entire family as a unit, and “都” reinforces that everyone likes movies. |
| 我们都去过那个地方。 | Wǒmen dōu qùguò nàge dìfang. | We’ve all been to that place. | “都” emphasizes that each individual in the group has visited the place. |
| 同学们全都很努力。 | Tóngxuémen quándōu hěn nǔlì. | All of the students are hardworking. | “全都” is used here to emphasize the dedication of every single student. |
| 这本书全是图片，没有文字。 | Zhè běn shū quán shì túpiàn, méiyǒu wénzì. | This book is all pictures, no text. | “全” emphasizes that the content of the book consists entirely of images. |
| 他们全都到了。 | Tāmen quándōu dào le. | They’ve all arrived. | “全都” emphasizes that every single person in the group has arrived. |
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FAQs
What does 全 mean in Chinese?
全 means “all” or “entire,” and it’s used to indicate completeness or entirety when describing groups, events, or objects.
How is 全 different from 都?
While both mean “all,” 全 emphasizes the entirety of a single unit (like “the whole family”), whereas 都 refers to every individual in a group (like “all of them”).
Can 全 be used with nouns and verbs?
Yes, 全 is often used with nouns, like 全家 (quán jiā, “the whole family”), and can modify actions when combined with 都, such as 全都喜欢 (quán dōu xǐhuān, “all like”).
Where does 全 appear in a sentence?
全 usually comes before the noun it modifies, as in 全世界 (quán shìjiè, “the whole world”), or before 都 when emphasizing actions.
Can 全 be used to emphasize quantity?
Yes, 全 is commonly used to emphasize a large or complete quantity, like in 全部 (quán bù, “all of it” or “the entire part”), adding emphasis to the scale.
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