using 哪儿 for everywhere / anywhere

[Johnny20270]

I am bit confused by the use of 哪儿 to mean anywhere or everywhere.

 

My Chinese text book gives these follow examples:

1） 哪儿都很好

2）去哪儿都可以

3）我哪儿都想去

4）我哪儿也没去过

 

I don't have the English translations but my guess it means something like ...

(For context: these are grammar points about 2 dudes discussion where to go on holidays)

 

1) Anywhere is good

2) to go anywhere is ok

3) I want to go anywhere

4) I haven't gone anywhere

 

Have I got this right?  and does anyone have an example of a clear distinction using  哪儿for anywhere / everywhere / where ever etc

 

My book only mentions using 哪儿 for Anywhere not no mention of using it for everywhere, but for 3 it could have a very different meaning.

[Shelley]

哪儿 - is where?, wherever, anywhere.

 

处处 or   到处  means everywhere.

 

So 哪儿 isn't used for everywhere because everywhere has its own word.

 

For #3 it would change the meaning, but it would do for the others if you used everywhere instead of anywhere.

[renzhe]

It's not 哪儿, it's the combination 哪儿+都 and 哪儿+也.

This usage is very typical in Chinese, where you combine an interogative pronoun with 都 (used for positive statements, usually with countable stuff) or 也 (used for negation). Some examples:

哪儿 = where, 哪儿都 = everywhere

谁 = who, 谁都 = everyone

什么 = what, 什么都 = everything

Or, with a real-life example:

谁知道? = Who knows?

谁都知道! = Everybody knows!

谁也不知道. = Nobody knows.

Keep in mind that you can't use this construction in isolation, you have to embed it in a sentence. Hope this helps.

[Johnny20270]

@Shelley

It's not 哪儿, it's the combination 哪儿+都 and 哪儿+也.

 

ahh that's my mistake! I was looking at the word in isolation and not the construction as Renzhe noted.

 

 

@renzhe

I like those 3 examples! Makes it very clear. They are getting jotted down in the 'crucial document' list. I like these little gems of information. I don't often find these in my grammar books.

 

thanks all

[Shelley]

Ah yes, thanks renzhe, that makes it clearer.

[Johnny20270]

so just for clarity sake, is this correct?

 

我哪儿都想去 = I want to go everywhere

我哪儿都不想去 = I don't want to go anywhere.

[Tiana]

Yes， they are。

[Johnny20270]

Thanks Tiana

[Demonic_Duck]

You can also do this with 什么 and 谁:

 

谁也不知道 - no-one knows

我什么都没带 - I didn't bring anything

她什么都吃 - she eats everything

大学里有两种人不谈恋爱：一种是谁都看不上，而另一种是谁都看不上 - there are two types of people who don't date in university: one is those who look down on everyone else, and the other is those who everyone else looks down on.

 

(The last one's a joke, it relies on the ambiguity between whether “谁（都）” is the subject of the sentence or the topic in a topic-comment construction.)