所有

All of

Level 3Sounds Like so2 jau5

所有 (so2 jau5) is an everyday word used to express 'all' or 'every'. It is placed before a noun and often requires the adverb 都 (dou1) before the verb.

How It Works

1. Basic Structure
The pattern is: 所有 (so2 jau5) + (嘅) + [Noun].
The linking particle 嘅 (ge3) is optional. Omitting it is perfectly natural in spoken Cantonese, especially for common phrases like 所有人 (so2 jau5 jan4 - everyone) and 所有嘢 (so2 jau5 je5 - everything).

2. The '都' Requirement and Topicalization
When the noun phrase starting with 所有 is the subject, you must include the adverb 都 (dou1) before the verb (e.g., 所有人都知 so2 jau5 jan4 dou1 zi1 - 'Everyone knows'). If the 所有 phrase is the object, you can place it after the verb without 都 (e.g., 我食晒所有嘢 ngo5 sik6 saai3 so2 jau5 je5 - 'I ate everything'). However, spoken Cantonese heavily prefers topicalizing the object—moving it to the front of the sentence. When you do this, 都 IS required (e.g., 所有嘢我都食晒 so2 jau5 je5 ngo5 dou1 sik6 saai3 - 'Everything, I ate it all').

3. Using '晒' with Verbs
For verbs where a quantity is being exhausted, the verb suffix 晒 (saai3) is often added (e.g., 所有嘢我都食晒 so2 jau5 je5 ngo5 dou1 sik6 saai3 - 'I ate absolutely everything'). This also applies to state or feeling verbs to indicate that the object or degree has been exhausted (e.g., 我知晒所有嘢 ngo5 zi1 saai3 so2 jau5 je5 - 'I know everything', or 我鍾意晒所有嘅菜式 ngo5 zung1 ji3 saai3 so2 jau5 ge3 coi3 sik1 - 'I like all the dishes').

4. 所有 vs 全部 vs 一切 vs 冚唪唥
While they all relate to 'all', 所有 focuses on 'every single one' in a category and must act as a modifier before a noun. It rarely stands alone as a noun in everyday speech, where 全部 is used instead. 全部 (cyun4 bou6) focuses on 'the entirety' of a specific group and can stand alone as a pronoun (e.g., 我要全部 ngo5 jiu3 cyun4 bou6 - 'I want it all'). For the abstract concept of 'everything', use 一切 (jat1 cai3). Finally, in highly colloquial speech, you will often hear 冚唪唥 (ham6 baang6 laang6), which means 'the whole lot' or 'all of it'.

Examples (4)

  1. 所有嘅資料都喺呢度。

    All the information is here.

    Word by Word: All (linking) information all at here.

    Here, 所有 modifies 'information' (資料 zi1 liu2). Note the use of 都 (dou1) before the verb 喺 (hai2) because the 'all' phrase is the subject.

  2. 所有嘢我都食晒。

    I ate absolutely everything.

    Word by Word: All things I all eat (completely).

    This shows the highly natural conversational pattern of topicalizing the object. By moving 'everything' (所有嘢 so2 jau5 je5) to the front, we must use 都 (dou1). The verb suffix 晒 (saai3) emphasizes that the action is complete.

  3. 唔係所有人都鍾意食辣。

    Not everyone likes eating spicy food.

    Word by Word: Not is all people all like eat spicy.

    This shows partial negation: 'Not all people...'. Even with negation, 都 (dou1) is still used to refer back to the group.

  4. 所有員工都要參加聽日個會議。

    All staff must attend tomorrow's meeting.

    Word by Word: All staff all need participate tomorrow (classifier) meeting.

    This is a more formal example where 嘅 (ge3) is omitted between 所有 and the noun 'staff' (員工 jyun4 gung1).

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out 都 (dou1) after a subject with 所有.

    所有人去咗。
    所有人都去咗。

    When the subject is 所有人, 都 (dou1) usually follows it before the verb. Without it the sentence can sound unfinished.

  • Using '所有' as a standalone pronoun.

    我食晒所有。
    我食晒全部。

    所有 (so2 jau5) is an adjective-like quantifier and must modify a noun. If you want to say 'all' by itself, use 全部 (cyun4 bou6) instead.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

所有Level 3All of

Learn This First

To understand '所有' (all of), learners need to be familiar with basic noun phrase structure and how the particle '嘅' is used to link modifiers to nouns. It is also helpful to understand the more common word for 'all' (全部) to distinguish the usage and weight of '所有'.

Words in This Pattern

所有