pron.
everyone; everybody
大家
Common Usage & Traps
- 大家好 — Hi, everyone — the standard way to greet a room
- 大家都 — everyone all (do something together)
- 我们大家 — all of us
- 大家的 — everyone's (as in 大家的意见, everyone's opinion)
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大家们大家大家 is already a crowd. Adding 们 is like saying 'everyones' — double-plural, and it sounds broken.
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Reading 大家 as 大 + 家大家 = everyone, not 'big family'The characters literally mean 'big home,' but as a word it points at people, not property.
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大家好 (said to one person)你好 / 您好大家 always means a group. Greeting a single person with 大家好 sounds like you're addressing an invisible audience.
Everyone already means 'all' — so why does Chinese keep tacking 都 after 大家?
Chinese adds 都 after 大家 because 'everyone' alone doesn't lock in the all-together vibe.
大家 by itself just names the crowd. 都 is the word that makes the crowd act as one unit. So 大家都来了 lands as 'everybody showed up, all of them.' Dropping 都 is not a grammar crime. It just sounds flat, like reporting a headcount with zero emphasis. What is a real mistake is adding 们. 大家 is already plural, so 大家们 is basically 'everyones.'
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Group does one shared thing | 大家都到了。 | 大家到了。 (grammatical, just flat) |
| Stacking a second plural | 大家好。 | 大家们好。 |
| Calling the room to order | 大家都听我说。 | 大家听我说。 (okay, weaker) |
Walking into a room full of people, should I open with 大家好 or 你们好?
大家好 greets the whole room; 你们好 is correct but turns it into separate 'yous.'
大家好 bundles everyone into one warm blob. It's the go-to opener for classrooms, meetings, livestreams, and WeChat groups. 你们好 is not wrong, but it splits the room into individual 'you, you, and you.' It can sound stiff, almost like roll call. For a single person, always use 你好 or 您好. Save 大家 for when there's more than one face. “大家好！” (Hello, everyone!) ── [《谢谢您请》](/read/thanks-for-treating#s3)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting a group | 大家好。 | 你们好。 (correct, slightly stiff) |
| Greeting one person | 你好。/ 您好。 | 大家好。 |
| Group chat intro | 大家好，我是新来的。 | 你们好，我是新来的。 |
What's the actual difference between 大家 and 每个人, since both translate to 'everyone'?
大家 sees the crowd as one blob; 每个人 zooms in on each face.
Both map to English 'everyone,' which is exactly why learners swap them. 大家 treats the group as a single lump you talk to. 每个人 pulls each person out of the crowd, one at a time. So you address a room with 大家, but you talk about individual differences with 每个人. Mixing them up isn't broken, just blurry.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Addressing the room | 大家好。 | 每个人好。 |
| One by one | 每个人说一句。 | 大家说一句。 (implies one collective line) |
| Individual differences | 每个人都有自己的口味。 | 大家都有自己的口味。 (grammatical, but squashes the point) |
Appears in Stories 2 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
Read this short story about people waiting in the rain for a new phone. You will practice numbers, time, and everyday vocabulary.
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下雨了， 大家 都没有回去。
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明天苹果十九出来了， 大家 都想做第一个买到苹果十九的人。
Everyday greetings are a gateway to natural Chinese. Practice time-based hellos like “早上好” and “晚安,” learn to address teachers with the respectful “您,” and see how families skip formalities to speak warmly at home.
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大家 好！
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