也
also; too
yě
What does 也 mean?
也 (yě) is the Chinese adverb for 'also / too / as well.' Unlike English 'too,' which floats freely at the end of a sentence, 也 sits in a fixed position: BEFORE the verb (or before 是, 有, 很, etc.). 我也是学生 means 'I am a student too,' literally 'I also am student.' Putting 也 anywhere else sounds wrong. 也 always refers BACKWARD — it links the current sentence to something already established. If A says 我喜欢咖啡 and B says 我也喜欢, B means 'I also like it.' In negative sentences, 也 still goes before 不 or 没: 我也不知道 ('I don't know either'). Don't confuse 也 with 都 (dōu, 'all / both') — 也 means 'in addition,' 都 means 'every one of them.'
Character breakdown
also; too (originally a pictograph of a water vessel; the modern meaning is grammatical)
Memory hook: 也 always hugs the verb on the LEFT — 'I ALSO go,' not 'I go ALSO.' Picture 也 as a magnet pulled toward the verb.
Example sentences
我也是学生。
Wǒ yě shì xuésheng.
I'm a student too.
neutral
他也喜欢吃中国菜。
Tā yě xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó cài.
He also likes eating Chinese food.
spoken
我也不知道。
Wǒ yě bù zhīdào.
I don't know either.
spoken
今天很冷，明天也很冷。
Jīntiān hěn lěng, míngtiān yě hěn lěng.
Today is cold, and tomorrow is cold too.
neutral
Common phrases with 也
Synonyms
都 means 'all / both' — it covers a complete set. 也 means 'in addition / also' — it adds one more case. 我们都是学生 ('all of us are students') vs 我也是学生 ('I am also a student').
还 means 'still / additionally' for ADDING items in the same sentence (我有书，还有笔 — 'I have a book, and also a pen'). 也 connects across sentences/people (你有书，我也有 — 'you have a book, I do too').
Don't confuse 也 with
Beginners frequently swap these. 都 = all/both (set is complete). 也 = also (one more added). 我们都喜欢 ≠ 我们也喜欢.
Same pronunciation, different character. 野 means 'wild / countryside' (e.g. 野生 wildlife). Visually 野 has 里 + 予; 也 is a single component.