The structure 连 transcribed lián ... 都 transcribed dōumeaning even / 也 transcribed yěmeaning even is used to emphasize extreme, unexpected, and surprising pieces of information. Rather than just using one word like “even” in English, you need to follow this pattern:
Forget his wife’s birthday — how could he?! Haha, I think this definitely qualifies as an extreme case. Therefore the “even” structure suits here to highlight the seriousness of his forgetfulness.
If you want to know more about how to express emphasis in Mandarin Chinese, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s dive in.
When to use 连 (lián)...都 (dōu) / 也 (yě) in Mandarin Chinese?
The pair 连 transcribed lián, and 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě is used when we want to highlight information. To do so, we put what we want to highlight between 连 transcribed lián and 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě. Let's compare the following:
The first sentence is a statement, but the second sentence adopts a highlighted structure. The highlighted bit is 南极 transcribed Nánjímeaning the South Pole, which is something unexpected in the speaker's mind. The 连 transcribed lián and 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě structure is brought in for emphasis. They are normally used as a pair. 连 is placed before the information being emphasized (“the South Pole” in this case) and 都 / 也 is placed before the verb. The verb is 去 transcribed qùmeaning go in this case.
What are the patterns with 连 (lián)...都 (dōu) / 也 (yě?)
The positive and negative patterns of emphasis with 连 transcribed lián ... 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě are as follows:
| Positive: | 连 transcribed lián + 都 transcribed dōumeaning even / 也 transcribed yěmeaning even |
|---|---|
| Negative: | 连 transcribed lián + 都 transcribed dōumeaning even / 也 transcribed yěmeaning even + 不 transcribed bùmeaning no, not / 没 transcribed méimeaning no, not |
As shown above, there are positive and negative forms of emphasis. 不 transcribed bù / 没 transcribed méi is added after 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě to form a negative sentence. For example:
The positive first sentence conveys the message that even the very unexpected thing (“someone is afraid of kittens”) is the case. The negative second sentence conveys the message that the most expected thing (“people know who their parents are”) is not the case.
Where are 连 (lián)...都 (dōu) / 也 (yě) placed?
连 transcribed lián ... 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě can be placed before or after the subject (usually located at the beginning part of a sentence) For example:
In the first sentence, 连 transcribed lián is placed before the subject 他们 transcribed tāmenmeaning they, while in the second sentence 连 transcribed lián is placed after the subject “they.” There doesn’t seem to be much difference in meaning between the two sentences, except perhaps the first sentence puts a little more emphasis on “baby’s milk powder,” because that piece of information is placed at the very beginning of the sentence which is a prominent position.
Are 都 (dōu, “all”) and 也 (yě, “also”) interchangeable in Mandarin Chinese?
Although 都 transcribed dōu and 也 transcribed yě are mostly interchangeable, there are subtle differences between the two. Let’s compare the following sentences:
In the above two sentences, 都 transcribed dōu and 也 transcribed yě are generally interchangeable, but 都 transcribed dōu expresses a stronger sense of surprise or unexpectedness. This is perhaps because 都 transcribed dōumeaning all may indicate a range of possibilities (e.g., “time for shopping,” “time for dinner,” “time for teaching,” etc.) ranked from most likely to least likely. The extreme case highlighted (“forgot his teaching time,” in this case) ranks at the top of all the possibilities and is the most unexpected as far as the speaker is concerned. On the other hand, the second sentence with 也 transcribed yěmeaning also is not associated with an assumed range of possibilities in the speaker’s mind. Therefore the sense of surprise or unexpectedness is less strong. 都 transcribed dōu is also used more commonly than 也 transcribed yě.
When can 连 (lián) be replaced by 甚至 (shènzhì, “even”)?
We can use 甚至 transcribed shènzhì in the place of 连 transcribed lián in most cases, and we can even use the two together to increase the intensity of emphasis. For example,
To sum up
连 transcribed lián ... 都 transcribed dōumeaning even / 也 transcribed yěmeaning even is used in Mandarin Chinese to emphasize some unexpected information. In the mind of the speaker, the extreme case is surprising, the least likely, or least expected.
The structure can be in a positive or negative form.
连 transcribed lián can be placed before or after a subject.
Between 都 transcribed dōu and 也 transcribed yě, 都 transcribed dōu is more often used and the sense of unexpectedness is more salient than 也 transcribed yě.
甚至 transcribed shènzhìmeaning even can replace 连 transcribed lián or be used together with 连 transcribed lián
For practice on how to emphasize using 连 transcribed lián ... 都 transcribed dōu / 也 transcribed yě, click here for useful exercises! I'm sure you want to at least give it a try - come on, jump in!
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