都
dōu
- Pinyin
- dōu
- Pinyin (Plain)
- dou
- Tone
- 1
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 邑
- Readings
- dōudouTone: 1all; both; entirely; (used for emphasis) even; already; (not) at allOrder: 0PrimarydūduTone: 1surname DuOrder: 1
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 386 656 Q 479 680 483 682 Q 490 689 487 697 Q 480 707 454 714 Q 421 720 390 704 L 334 687 Q 286 675 232 670 Q 198 664 223 649 Q 259 628 315 642 Q 322 645 334 645 L 386 656 Z", "M 374 533 Q 380 597 386 656 L 390 704 Q 391 744 409 803 Q 412 813 393 828 Q 359 847 336 852 Q 320 856 312 847 Q 305 840 312 825 Q 331 800 331 781 Q 332 736 334 687 L 334 645 Q 334 587 332 523 C 331 493 371 503 374 533 Z", "M 433 506 Q 499 521 580 530 Q 596 531 598 540 Q 599 553 580 563 Q 547 578 474 556 L 410 541 Q 391 538 374 533 L 332 523 Q 95 484 95 482 Q 94 481 93 478 Q 90 468 105 456 Q 145 428 189 441 Q 295 475 366 492 Q 367 493 373 493 L 433 506 Z", "M 333 389 Q 345 404 358 417 Q 398 466 433 506 L 474 556 Q 535 632 554 658 Q 578 692 602 706 Q 615 713 615 722 Q 614 729 602 734 Q 571 750 544 753 Q 528 754 523 738 Q 513 683 410 541 L 373 493 Q 333 447 285 390 L 265 367 Q 258 361 253 353 Q 171 263 50 160 Q 43 156 45 153 Q 46 150 54 152 Q 121 180 154 209 Q 214 261 273 322 L 333 389 Z", "M 285 390 Q 278 394 269 397 Q 262 398 257 391 Q 254 387 260 378 Q 261 372 265 367 L 273 322 Q 277 205 264 156 Q 252 116 279 83 Q 289 73 296 83 Q 305 93 309 114 L 314 148 Q 315 166 316 240 L 317 271 Q 317 337 320 355 L 285 390 Z", "M 441 123 Q 456 99 468 74 Q 478 55 488 52 Q 498 52 507 74 Q 522 117 517 215 Q 510 338 520 368 Q 527 387 516 396 Q 509 406 474 423 Q 459 429 382 402 Q 367 401 333 389 C 289 374 291 348 320 355 Q 425 382 430 382 Q 446 383 452 378 Q 462 368 459 223 Q 460 171 455 161 Q 451 151 438 154 L 436 154 C 423 152 426 149 441 123 Z", "M 316 240 Q 376 252 420 257 Q 442 261 433 273 Q 423 286 399 290 Q 360 293 317 271 C 290 258 287 234 316 240 Z", "M 309 114 Q 313 114 320 115 Q 357 122 441 123 C 471 123 460 136 436 154 Q 432 157 428 160 Q 413 169 384 162 Q 345 155 314 148 C 285 141 279 112 309 114 Z", "M 700 630 Q 707 633 714 636 Q 783 666 795 659 Q 805 653 797 632 Q 737 485 737 482 Q 736 470 758 462 Q 879 374 863 286 Q 859 276 852 268 Q 839 261 816 268 Q 782 278 751 286 Q 744 289 743 281 Q 744 274 758 262 Q 824 213 832 188 Q 839 173 853 170 Q 866 169 882 180 Q 921 228 922 286 Q 923 376 801 472 Q 759 493 835 587 Q 857 623 888 641 Q 916 659 891 677 Q 854 708 830 718 Q 812 724 773 697 Q 761 691 689 661 C 661 649 672 618 700 630 Z", "M 637 -38 Q 643 -63 650 -73 Q 656 -80 663 -78 Q 678 -69 684 -9 Q 694 81 691 170 Q 691 186 690 559 Q 690 586 700 630 C 704 651 704 651 689 661 Q 656 683 641 686 Q 628 690 612 681 Q 603 674 611 663 Q 635 596 637 592 Q 637 270 634 169 Q 631 15 637 -38 Z"]
- Meaning
- “都” most often means “all/both,” showing that something applies to every person or thing mentioned (e.g., “他们都喜欢” = “They all like it”). It can also mean “city” or “capital” in some words, like “首都” (capital city).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 3/23/2026, 10:44:39 PM
Usage
In modern Mandarin, 都 (dōu) is most commonly used as an adverb meaning “all,” “both,” or “all of them.” It usually comes after the subject and before the verb, and it indicates that the statement applies to every item in a group: 我们**都**喜欢这首歌 (“We all like this song”), 他们**都**是学生 (“They are all students”), 我俩**都**不知道 (“Neither of us knows”). It often appears with plural nouns, measure words, or words like 每 (měi, “every”) and 两/俩 (liǎng/ liǎ) to emphasize total inclusion or entirety. Learners also frequently meet 都 in patterns showing surprise, emphasis, or contrast, where it can be translated as “already,” “even,” or “as much as”: 都九点了，你怎么还没起床？ (“It’s already nine o’clock, how are you still not up?”), 他汉语都能看懂 (“He can even read Chinese”). Besides its adverb use, 都 appears in some very common words and place names, such as 首都 (shǒudū, “capital city”) and 成都 (Chéngdū), where it carries the older noun meaning of “metropolis” or “capital,” but learners primarily experience it in everyday speech as the adverb “all / both / even.”
Handwriting Notes
都 in handwriting usually has a compact, slightly rectangular feel: the left side ⻏ (a “city”/place component) is tall and narrow, and the right side 者 is denser and a bit wider. The whole character tends to be written slightly taller than it is wide, with the left radical acting like a vertical “spine” and the right part filling most of the visual weight. In neat handwriting, the top strokes of 者 are clearly separated, and the small horizontal stroke above 日 (in printed forms) often becomes shorter or merges visually into nearby strokes. Handwritten forms vary in how simplified and connected they are. The ⻏ on the left can be written with a more curved bottom stroke, or the first vertical and following strokes may blend together slightly in quick writing. On the right, 者 may lose some internal clarity: the top strokes can slant more, the “日” part can look more square or more compressed, and the lower part may become a single flowing shape rather than clearly separated horizontals. Despite these variations, the tall-left-plus-full-right balance and the overall silhouette are stable cues. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such handwritten variants, so they learn to recognize 都 even when strokes are merged, slightly distorted, or written in different personal styles.
Description
都 is a common Chinese character meaning “all” or “both” when used as an adverb (e.g., 我们都是学生 “We are all students”). It can also mean “city” or “capital” in nouns like 首都 (“capital city”). In modern Mandarin, it is pronounced dōu in its adverbial use and dū in the “capital city” sense.
Common Words
- 都Du1surname Du
- 全都quan2 dou1all
- 都会du1 hui4city
- 都灵Du1 ling2Torino
- 旧都jiu4 du1old capital
Example Sentences
我喜欢都。
wo3 xi3 huan5 dou1
I like surname Du.
全都很常见。
quan2 dou1 hen3 chang2 jian4
全都 is very common.
我们在学习都会。
wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 du1 hui4
We are learning city.
这个都灵很重要。
zhe4 ge5 Du1 ling2 hen3 zhong4 yao4
This Torino is important.
请写一下“都”。
qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 dou1
Please write '都'.