Meaning
all; both (if two things are involved); entirely (due to)each; even; already; (surname)
Chinese: 全部；读 dū 时表示都市。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “dou” becomes a different word in each tone. 都 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 首都shǒu dūcapital (city)
- 全都quán dōuall; without exception
- 大都dà dōufor the most part; on the whole
- 都市dū shìcity; metropolis
- 都会dū huìcity; metropolis
Example Sentence
我们都喜欢音乐。Wǒ men dōu xǐ huan yīn yuè.We all like music.
我们Wǒ menwe都dōuall喜欢xǐ huanto like音乐yīn yuèmusic。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
者 (sound) with the mound/settlement radical 阝: a place where people gather — a ‘capital, big city’ (dū); by extension ‘all, both’ (dōu).
A way to remember it
The big settlement (阝) everyone gathers in — capital; all.