全 quán — all; whole; entire; every; complete
全家人一起吃年夜饭。Quán jiā rén yì qǐ chī nián yè fàn.The whole family eats the New Year's Eve dinner together.
Common words: 安全 (ān quán)、完全 (wán quán)、全部 (quán bù)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "every"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "every", including 全 (quán), 各 (gè), 每 (měi), 凡 (fán), 皆 (jiē). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "every" covers 5 different Chinese characters — 全 (quán), 各 (gè), 每 (měi), 凡 (fán), 皆 (jiē) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 5 characters do not share a sound — their readings span quán, gè, měi, fán, jiē — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 全 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 全 quánall; whole; entire; every; completeUseful words: 安全, 完全
- 各 gèeach; everyUseful words: 各位, 各种
- 每 měieach; everyUseful words: 每当, 每逢
- 凡 fánordinary; every; all; whatever; worldlyUseful words: 凡是, 平凡
- 皆 jiēall; each and every; in all casesUseful words: 比比皆是, 皆可
Common words for these 5 "every" characters
Anchor each of these 5 characters in a word you can picture — start with 全 (quán) — so "every" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
安全ān quánsafe; secure; safety; security完全wán quáncomplete; whole; totally; entirely全部quán bùwhole; all各位gè wèieverybody; all (guests, colleagues etc); all of you各种gè zhǒngevery kind of; all kinds of; various各地gè dìin all parts of (a country); various regions每当měi dāngwhenever; every time每逢měi féngevery time; on each occasion; whenever每人měi réneach person; everybody; per person凡是fán shìeach and every; every; all; any
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 5 ways to say "every".
各 gè — each; every
各个国家有不同的文化。Gè gè guó jiā yǒu bù tóng de wén huà.Each country has a different culture.
Common words: 各位 (gè wèi)、各种 (gè zhǒng)、各地 (gè dì)
每 měi — each; every
我每天早上都喝一杯牛奶。Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shang dōu hē yì bēi niú nǎi.I drink a glass of milk every morning.
Common words: 每当 (měi dāng)、每逢 (měi féng)、每人 (měi rén)
凡 fán — ordinary; every; all; whatever; worldly
凡事都要认真对待。Fán shì dōu yào rèn zhēn duì dài.One should take everything seriously.
Common words: 凡是 (fán shì)、平凡 (píng fán)、非凡 (fēi fán)
皆 jiē — all; each and every; in all cases
一年之计在于春，万物皆有生机。Yì nián zhī jì zài yú chūn, wàn wù jiē yǒu shēng jī.The plan for the year starts in spring, when all things are full of life.
Common words: 比比皆是 (bǐ bǐ jiē shì)、皆可 (jiē kě)、皆然 (jiē rán)
All 5 characters
Open 全、各、每 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.