How to use 全
全 + Noun
全 can present something as a whole or say that a statement covers an entire set. Before suitable nouns, it forms expressions referring to the whole family, country, body, or another established unit. In these compact noun combinations, 全 attaches directly rather than requiring 的 between it and the noun.
Before a predicate, 全 often combines with 都 to emphasize complete coverage. Negation changes the scope depending on its position. A negative after 全都 denies the predicate throughout the set, while a negative before 全都 can say that coverage is incomplete. Pay close attention to this ordering when distinguishing “none” from “not all.” The set itself still needs to be identifiable from the sentence or context.
Examples with pinyin and English
我们全家都去过北京。
Our entire family has been to Beijing.
全公司的人都不喜欢新老板。
The whole company doesn't like the new boss.
运动完以后我全身都是汗。
My whole body was sweaty after I finished exercising.
全校都放假了。
The whole school is on break.
What to remember
- Learn natural whole-unit noun combinations.
- 全都 emphasizes coverage of a set.
- Negative placement distinguishes none from not all.
Practise the pattern
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.