---
title: "什么 + 也/都 + negative in Chinese Grammar: Not … anything, With Examples"
description: "什么 + 也/都 + negative: not … anything. 什么 + 也/都 + a negative means \"nothing at all\". 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shenme-ye-neg"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 什么 + 也/都 + negative

Not … anything

什么 + 也/都 + a negative means "nothing at all".

## In stories

叶小圆说：“我喜欢一个人坐在这儿，**什么也不做**，也不说话。”

[你的爱好是什么？ · How to talk about your hobbies in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-talk-about-your-hobbies-in-chinese#library-word-250-255) HSK 1

她们**什么都不一样**。

[姐姐说热，妹妹说冷 · Hot or cold? Chinese opposites](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/chinese-opposites-hot-or-cold#library-word-19-25) HSK 2

我不高兴的时候，她会坐在我旁边，**什么也不说**。

[我最好的朋友 · My best friend: an easy Chinese essay story](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/my-best-friend-in-chinese#library-word-95-100) HSK 2

小狗看着她，**什么也不说**。

[跟我回家的小狗 · The little dog that followed me home](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-lost-dog-short-chinese-story#library-word-67-72) HSK 2

[Read 你的爱好是什么？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-talk-about-your-hobbies-in-chinese#library-word-250-255)

## More patterns

- [连…都/也… even …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/lian-dou)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)
- [一 + measure + (noun) + 也/都 + negative not even …; not a single one](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-ye-bu)
- [一点(儿) + 也/都 + 不/没 not … at all](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yidian-ye-neg)

## What does 什么 + 也/都 + negative mean in Chinese?

Not … anything. 什么 + 也/都 + a negative means "nothing at all".

## How common is 什么 + 也/都 + negative?

It comes up in 20 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.