Chinese word

大都

Pronunciation

Pinyindà dōu

Meaning

  • adverbmostly

Example

我们大都坐地铁上班。wǒ men dà dōu zuò dì tiě shàng bān

We mostly take the subway to work.

Illustration for 大都 (mostly)

More examples

人们大都生活在城市周边。rén men dà dū shēng huó zài chéng shì zhōu biān

Most people live around cities.

Core concept

A view of many individual cases gathered into one general tendency.

Common phrases

  • 人们大都rén men dà dū

    most people

  • 大都认为dà dū rèn wéi

    mostly think

  • 大都来自dà dū lái zì

    mostly come from

Similar words

一般yì bān: In general, as a broad statement about what commonly applies.
通常tōng cháng: Under normal conditions or according to the usual way of doing things.
往往wáng wǎng: Often in a particular situation or when certain conditions occur.
多半duō bàn: In most cases, with the sense that this is the likely result.

Definition in Chinese

用来概括整体的倾向或普遍现象，表示在大多数情况下发生或成立，意义接近大抵、多半。yòng lái gài kuò zhéng tǐ de qīng xiàng huò pǔ biàn xiàn xiàng biǎo shì zài dà duō shù qíng kuàng xià fā shēng huò chéng lì yì yì jiē jìn dà dǐ duō bàn

Word origin

大都 (dàdōu, "mostly") is formed from 大 (dà, "great") + 都 (dōu, "all"), presenting not every case but the large group that shares a pattern.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may expect a fixed number from a broad statement, but this word leaves the exact proportion open unless the context supplies one.

Word lists with this word