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都

dōu

都 isn't a meaning, it's an arm that sweeps

The picture Opening your arms wide and sweeping in everything laid out in front of you, leaving nothing. 都 sweeps in everything before it with one arm; 也 lays just one more onto a spot already taken.

Connectors

Where the picture shows up in 都

  1. all the people

    大家都到了吗?

    dà jiā dōu dào le ma

    Is everyone here?

    Running your eyes over every chair in the room to see whether one is still empty.

    都 comes after what it sweeps up. Never 都大家.

  2. every one of the days

    我们每天都加班。

    wǒ men měi tiān dōu jiā bān

    We work late every single day.

    A calendar with the same stamp landed on every single date square.

  3. sweeping it all in, then refusing

    这些我都不要。

    zhè xiē wǒ dōu bú yào

    I don't want any of these.

    Gathering everything in front of you into one armful, then pushing the whole armful away.

  4. pick any one, it's inside

    什么时候来都可以。

    shén me shí hou lái dōu kě yǐ

    Come whenever you like, it's fine.

    A calendar where whichever square your finger lands on lights up green.

    什么 · 谁 · 什么时候 + 都 means 'anything, anyone, anytime' — 都 is still sweeping up the question word in front of it.

All of it in one picture

都 isn't a meaning, it's an arm. Sweep every chair and you get 'everyone'; stamp every square and you get 'every day'; gather the lot and shove it away and you get 'none of them'. When any square you touch lights green, you get 'whenever'. The arm can only close around what is already laid out, which is why 都 always stands behind that.

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