The English adverb "too" or "also" is expressed in Chinese as 也 (yě). In Chinese, it always needs to come before the verb (or adjective).
也 (yě) with Verb Phrases
Structure
Since it is an adverb, 也 (yě) is inserted after the subject, before the verb or verb phrase.
Subj. + 也 + Verb / [Verb Phrase]
Examples
- 我 也 喜欢。Wǒ yě xǐhuan.I also like it.
- 我 也 是 学生 。Wǒ yě shì xuésheng.I am a student too.
- 她 也 有 一个 儿子。Tā yě yǒu yī gè érzi.She also has a son.
- 他们 也 是 法国 人 吗?Tāmen yě shì Fǎguó rén ma?Are they also French?
- 我 也 想 学 中文。Wǒ yě xiǎng xué Zhōngwén.I also want to study Chinese.
- 他们 也 会 去吗?Tāmen yě huì qù ma?Are they also going?
- 我 妈妈 也 喜欢 吃 饺子。Wǒ māma yě xǐhuan chī jiǎozi.My mother likes to eat boiled dumplings too.
- 孩子 也 可以 喝酒 吗?Háizi yě kěyǐ hējiǔ ma?Can kids drink alcohol too?
- 你 也 想 来 我 家 吗?Nǐ yě xiǎng lái wǒ jiā ma?Do you want to come to my house too?
- 她 也 觉得 这 个 老师 不 好。Tā yě juéde zhège lǎoshī bù hǎo.She also thinks this teacher isn't good.
Let's take one more look at two different English sentences which mean the same thing, but can result in bad Chinese if you translate word-for-word.
- 我也喜欢。Wǒ yě xǐhuan.I also like it.
- 我 喜欢 也。Wǒ xǐhuan yě.I like it too.
Note that the translation for the first sentence is "I also like it." The translation of the second sentence is "I like it too," which is equally correct in English, but translated word-for-word into Chinese, the 也 (yě) comes at the end of the sentence, which is 100% wrong in Chinese.
Please note that in English, we replace the word "too" with "either" in negative sentences. For example:
- A:I like cats.
- B:I like cats too.
- A: I don't like cats.
- B: I don't like cats either.
In Chinese, regardless of whether the sentence is positive ("I like them too") or negative ("I don't like them either"), 也 (yě) is used the same way. Just make sure you put the 也 (yě) before the 不 (bù) or other negative part that comes before the verb.
- 我 也 不 喜欢。Wǒ yě bù xǐhuan.I don't like it either.
- 我 也 不 知道。Wǒ yě bù zhīdào.I don't know either.
- 他 也 没 有。Tā yě méiyǒu.He doesn't have it either.
- 你 也 不 想 来 我 家 吗?Nǐ yě bù xiǎng lái wǒ jiā ma?You don't want to come to my house either?
Expressing "Me Too" with 也 (yě)
It can be tricky to know how to say "me too" when you first study 也 (yě), as you can't say "wǒ yě" all by itself. That's not a complete sentence; you can't just leave 也 (yě) hanging there with nothing after it.
The all-purpose correct sentence is "wǒ yě shì," which literally means, "I am too," but can also stand in for "me too."
Structure
The correct structure uses the verb 是 (shì):
- 我 也 是。The 是 fills in for whatever was just said.Wǒ yě shì.I am too. / Me too.
- 我 也 。 Always put something after 也! It never ends a sentence.Wǒ yě.
Examples
The "me too" structure works with other subjects, as well. But for these simple examples, we'll stick to the classic 我 (wǒ) subject.
- A: 我 是 美国人 。Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.I am an American.
- B: 我 也 是。Wǒ yě shì.Me too. / I am too.
For this next one, you'll notice that the "me too" reply repeats the original verb 喜欢 (xǐhuan) instead of using 是 (shì). Both ways are possible.
- A: 我 喜欢 看 书 。Wǒ xǐhuan kàn shū.I like to read.
- B: 我 也 喜欢。Wǒ yě xǐhuan.Me too. / So do I.
You'll notice that some of those English translations use "so do I." The Chinese works exactly the same; they're just translated that way to produce more natural-sounding English.