---
title: "Fanshi Meaning: 凡是 (fánshì) Means “every”"
description: "凡是 (fánshì) means “every; all; any (introducing a whole category)”. Hear its tones, see what 凡 and 是 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/fanshi"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 凡是 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

凡是 fánshì

## every; all; any (introducing a whole category)

## Its characters

1. 凡 fán every
2. 是 shì to be (am

## In a sentence

凡是来过的人都说好。 Everyone who has been here says it's good.

区别在于，这种用法在英语里只是例外，在中文里却是规律：**凡是**能数的东西，前面几乎都得配一个量词。

From [中文为什么要用量词？ · Why does Chinese have measure words?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/why-does-chinese-have-measure-words#library-word-246-248)

[More about 凡是](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%87%A1%E6%98%AF)

## More words with 凡 or 是

- [但是 dànshì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/danshi)
- [凡尔赛 fán’ěrsài](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/fanersai)
- [非凡 fēifán](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/feifan)
- [还是 háishi](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/haishi)
- [或是 huòshì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/huoshi)
- [就是 jiùshì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiushi)
- [就是说 jiùshìshuō](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiushishuo)
- [可不是 kěbushì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kebushi)
- [可是 kěshì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/keshi)
- [平凡 píngfán](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/pingfan)

## Keep 凡是 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Ffanshi) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Type pinyin with tone marks](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-tone-marks)

[The best free resources to learn Mandarin](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/free-resources-to-learn-chinese)