<p>The speaker you're referring to has these subtitles following his speech: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>所以说真的, 我们每次学的时候, 难怪我都觉得说, 人家看我怪怪的。 我都说(something in Japanese),
  可是那个(something in Japanese)是女生的, 对不对？</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What I'm actually hearing (I've double checked with speed 0.25) is this: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>所以说真的, 我每次学的时候, 难怪我都觉得人家看我的时候怪怪。 我都说(something in Japanese),
  可是那个(something in Japanese)是女生的, 对不对？</p>
</blockquote>

<p>He speaks at a fast pace, which results in being not completely 标准 (standard), similar to English natives saying 'wanna' instead of want to. </p>

<p>What I hear might also be different from what he actually says, please <strong>correct</strong> me if I'm wrong.</p>

<hr>

<p><strong>Answer to your question:</strong></p>

<p>The 都 in '我都说' (which is your question), means 'always'. The speaker doesn't say 每次, but that is exactly what he means. See <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22every_time%22_with_%22mei%22_and_%22dou%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> for expressing 'always' with 每次...都.</p>

<hr>

<p>In addition to this, I would like to add to the answer of <strong>songyuanyao</strong> (I don't have enough reputation to comment).</p>

<p>都 means already, <strong>only</strong> in the structure: 都...了. See <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22already%22_with_%22dou%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> for further explanation.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T20:36:16.203Z
Thanks for the info. I think he probably does say 我们每次 since 每 starts with 'm' and and 我们 is often shortened to 'wom'. Hard to say and I'm no expert. I'm actually trying to study the difference in spoken Tawianese mandarin and the standard pronunciation. I generally know how things would pronounced in the 'mythical' 'standard', but apart from radio/tv news this is not common. It's been hard to make the switch from classroom talk to colloquial talk. It's really helpful to have talk shows that have been transcribed locally, even if they're not always right. It actually helps to see when...
pixelearth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T20:36:35.573Z
...the transcribers themselves are confused or not sure of what was actually said.
pixelearth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T09:35:22.353Z
2018-10-17T10:50:03.080Z
2018-10-17T10:50:03.080Z
Jacob de Neur
<p>in 0:39s  "<code>難怪我都覺得說，人家看我怪怪的</code>"</p>

<p>In this sentence "都", means "<strong>总是，总会(always)</strong>". </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The time from birth to now, (2018,2017,2016,2015....) in those time, I always feel....</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T09:22:39.567Z
2018-10-17T09:22:39.567Z
Longge
<p>I wouldn't try to translate all of the「都」exactly.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>難怪「我都覺得說」</p>
<p>人家看我「都」怪怪的</p>
<p>「我都說」わたしわ (<em>sic</em>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This talk show is in the format of an extremely fast, colloquial dialogue, and makes heavy use of filler words/syllables which you wouldn't find in clearly enunciated speech. I don't believe that the first「都」has an exact translation; my attempt would be something like</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>No wonder <strong>I'm like,</strong></em>...</p>
<p>&quot;<em>they're <strong>all</strong> giving me weird looks</em>&quot;...</p>
<p><em><strong>whenever I say</strong> わたしは</em>...</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The first line especially has unnecessary syllables. All that's need to be said is</p>
<blockquote>
<p>難怪「我覺得」</p>
<p><em>No wonder <strong>I feel like</strong></em></p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<p>Under ordinary circumstances,「都」can be translated in the clearly enunciated structures</p>
<ul>
<li>我「都」說過。。。。。。(<em>I've <strong>always</strong> said that...</em>)</li>
<li>我每次「都」說。。。。。。(<em>I've <strong>always</strong> said, every time, that...</em>)</li>
</ul>
<p>but this is not the case at the timestamp given in this talk show.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T20:40:17.830Z
Thank you for your comment, it has some really valuable information for me. But respectfully, please don't misunderstand my question for asking for a translation. I'm interested in meaning, function, and purpose of the words chosen by the speaker(s). Sometimes the only way to convey the meaning is to say things like "X softens the tone", or "X buys the speaker some time while they're thinking of what to say"... That's the kind of function/meaning I'm looking for.
pixelearth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T20:40:23.277Z
I think filler words are extremely important, especially real-time discourse. You call these words "unnecessary", but it it's often these non-semantic functional words that I find the hardest, most important to learning to speak and understand a language. They may indicate mood, membership, identity etc. They make things funny or boring, colorful or dry
pixelearth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-17T11:48:36.463Z
2018-10-17T12:01:51.760Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
dROOOze
<p>I'm <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5bDBhKASRo" rel="nofollow noreferrer">studying this video</a>, and the speaker starting around 0:38 uses 我都 a number of times (我都覺得，我都說。。。）</p>

<p>I don't really understand this use of 都. Can someone clarify what is going on here and what this means?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<grammar><meaning>
Can someone explain the meaning of 都 in 我都說?
# Can someone explain the meaning of 都 in 我都說?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-10-17)

I'm [studying this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5bDBhKASRo), and the speaker starting around 0:38 uses 我都 a number of times (我都覺得，我都說。。。）

I don't really understand this use of 都. Can someone clarify what is going on here and what this means?

Thanks

**Tags:** grammar, meaning

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-10-17. Score: 2

The speaker you're referring to has these subtitles following his speech:

> 所以说真的, 我们每次学的时候, 难怪我都觉得说, 人家看我怪怪的。 我都说(something in Japanese),
> 可是那个(something in Japanese)是女生的, 对不对？

What I'm actually hearing (I've double checked with speed 0.25) is this:

> 所以说真的, 我每次学的时候, 难怪我都觉得人家看我的时候怪怪。 我都说(something in Japanese),
> 可是那个(something in Japanese)是女生的, 对不对？

He speaks at a fast pace, which results in being not completely 标准 (standard), similar to English natives saying 'wanna' instead of want to.

What I hear might also be different from what he actually says, please **correct** me if I'm wrong.

---

**Answer to your question:**

The 都 in '我都说' (which is your question), means 'always'. The speaker doesn't say 每次, but that is exactly what he means. See [here](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22every_time%22_with_%22mei%22_and_%22dou%22) for expressing 'always' with 每次...都.

---

In addition to this, I would like to add to the answer of **songyuanyao** (I don't have enough reputation to comment).

都 means already, **only** in the structure: 都...了. See [here](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22already%22_with_%22dou%22) for further explanation.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the info. I think he probably does say 我们每次 since 每 starts with 'm' and and 我们 is often shortened to 'wom'. Hard to say and I'm no expert. I'm actually trying to study the difference in spoken Tawianese mandarin and the standard pronunciation. I generally know how things would pronounced in the 'mythical' 'standard', but apart from radio/tv news this is not common. It's been hard to make the switch from classroom talk to colloquial talk. It's really helpful to have talk shows that have been transcribed locally, even if they're not always right. It actually helps to see when...  
> **username_0**: ...the transcribers themselves are confused or not sure of what was actually said.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-10-17. Score: 1

in 0:39s "`難怪我都覺得說，人家看我怪怪的`"

In this sentence "都", means "**总是，总会(always)**".

> The time from birth to now, (2018,2017,2016,2015....) in those time, I always feel....


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-10-17. Score: 0

I wouldn't try to translate all of the「都」exactly.

> 難怪「我都覺得說」
>
> 人家看我「都」怪怪的
>
> 「我都說」わたしわ (*sic*)

This talk show is in the format of an extremely fast, colloquial dialogue, and makes heavy use of filler words/syllables which you wouldn't find in clearly enunciated speech. I don't believe that the first「都」has an exact translation; my attempt would be something like

> *No wonder **I'm like,***...
>
> "*they're **all** giving me weird looks*"...
>
> ***whenever I say** わたしは*...

The first line especially has unnecessary syllables. All that's need to be said is

> 難怪「我覺得」
>
> *No wonder **I feel like***

---

Under ordinary circumstances,「都」can be translated in the clearly enunciated structures

* 我「都」說過。。。。。。(*I've **always** said that...*)
* 我每次「都」說。。。。。。(*I've **always** said, every time, that...*)

but this is not the case at the timestamp given in this talk show.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your comment, it has some really valuable information for me. But respectfully, please don't misunderstand my question for asking for a translation. I'm interested in meaning, function, and purpose of the words chosen by the speaker(s). Sometimes the only way to convey the meaning is to say things like "X softens the tone", or "X buys the speaker some time while they're thinking of what to say"... That's the kind of function/meaning I'm looking for.  
> **username_0**: I think filler words are extremely important, especially real-time discourse. You call these words "unnecessary", but it it's often these non-semantic functional words that I find the hardest, most important to learning to speak and understand a language. They may indicate mood, membership, identity etc. They make things funny or boring, colorful or dry  

---

