<blockquote>
  <p>你们（都）也不是美国人吗？你们也（都）不是美国人吗？</p>
  
  <p>Nǐmén (dōu) yě búshì měiguórén ma? Nǐmén yě (dōu) búshì měiguórén ma?</p>
  
  <p>Are (both/all of) you also not Americans?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In this case, you're inquiring your targets whether they are also not Americans, just like you or some other people.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你们不也（都）是美国人吗？</p>
  
  <p>Nǐmén bu/bú/bù yě (dōu) shì měiguórén ma?</p>
  
  <p>Aren't you (both/all) also Americans?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a rhetorical question to make a point that <strong>you're under the impression that both/all your targets are also Americans</strong>, like you or some other people.  There are three possible ways to pronounce the 不 with bu being the most casual tone and bù being the most serious.</p>

<p>Gist: 也 is "also", 都 is "both/all".  不也都 signals that the question is rhetorical.  Depending on the exact sentence you wish to construct, you should omit 也 ("also") or 都 ("both/all").</p>

<p>As per the comments by <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/users/6065/user6065">user6065</a>, it's also correct to use the following rhetorical questions if you're addressing exactly two people.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你俩不也都是美国人吗？
    Nǐliǎ ...</p>
  
  <p>你们俩不也都是美国人吗？
    Nǐménliǎ ...</p>
  
  <p>你们两个不也都是美国人吗？
    Nǐmén liǎng'ge ...</p>
  
  <p>你们两人不也都是美国人吗？
    Nǐmén liǎngrén ...</p>
  
  <p>你们两个人不也都是美国人吗？
    Nǐmén liǎng'gè rén ...</p>
</blockquote>

<p>These five rhetorical questions all share the meaning of "Aren't you two also both Americans?"</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T07:09:21.183Z
users note that 你们两个人 etc. was edited into answer 18 min after appearing in comment #2
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T07:15:36.627Z
@user6065 You have just been given credit.
Frenzy Li
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T07:18:58.037Z
@Isabel I have made a non-trivial edit to the answer.
Frenzy Li
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:17:45.140Z
2018-06-11T07:14:10.683Z
2018-06-11T07:14:10.683Z
Frenzy Li
<p>"Aren't you both also Americans." is ambiguous.</p>

<p>1.（I know you both have Chinese passports,） aren't you both also Americans?<br>
(我知道你们都有中国的护照，)你们两个难道不也还是美国人吗？（除了中国护照你们还有美国护照吗？）</p>

<p>2.（I'm American,） aren't you two both also Americans?<br>
（我是美国人，）你们俩也是，难道不是吗？</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-12T02:34:30.283Z
“我知道你们都有中国的护照，你们两个难道不也还是美国人吗？” is a contrived sentence that doesn't make logical sense. To make this complete, you have to say the following instead: “我是美国人，我知道你们都有中国的护照，你们两个难道不也还是美国人吗？” In all, context is important.
Frenzy Li
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-12T10:12:53.423Z
I know, my Chinese friends could not understand that the English could be ambiguous. That does not fit Chinese logic at all. They said, I don't understand the English correctly!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-12T10:14:14.620Z
Yeah, exactly...
Frenzy Li
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-12T01:32:14.667Z
2018-06-12T01:32:14.667Z
Pedroski
<blockquote>
  <p>Nǐmen dōu ye bù shì měi guó rén ma? (你们都也不是美国人吗？)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The correct order is 你们(两个)不也(都)是美国人吗？</p>

<p>你们不也是美国人吗？or 你们两个不也是美国人吗？， without 都， sounds more natural <strong>to me</strong>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:29:59.610Z
It is optional to omit 都 in all three cases here, but it doesn't make the sentence more natural or less.
Frenzy Li
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:41:30.587Z
@FrenzyLi I don't know. To me, 我觉得 *你们不也是美国人吗？or 你们两个不也是美国人吗* 说起来更顺一些. Of course, it's not about right or wrong. Anyways, this is just opinion-based.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:42:34.490Z
Thanks.. but if I keep bushi together and place ye before it, is it still.. correct :(  ?? Like I can?
Isabel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:47:25.183Z
@Isabel unfortunately, 也不是 still doesn't fit for this sentence. 你们也不是美国人吗？ doesn't sound right.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T13:31:11.487Z
@Isabel I just realized 你们也不是美国人吗 is actually a correct sentence, but it means differently. It means you guys are not Americans as well? Well,  你们不也是美国人吗 means "aren't you both also Americans?". So, you see the difference?
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:23:38.237Z
2018-06-11T06:43:40.180Z
2018-06-11T06:43:40.180Z
dan
<blockquote>
  <p>Aren't you both also Americans?<br>
  Nǐmen dōu ye bù shì měi guó rén ma?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Is it correct? I am comfortable with this word order. Is it acceptable? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:16:18.873Z
preferred word order:  也都 see comment #2 of https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/30098/is-the-position-of-%e9%83%bd-in-a-sentence-important-example-inside  confirmed by iciba's 9 examples for 也都，only ３ for  都也  ("not" missing ?)
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T06:41:06.280Z
of course "you both" could be translated as ＂你们两个人＂ or even 你们俩（人） (to specify 2, lost with 都)
user6065
<translation><writing-critique>
"Aren't you both also Americans" in Chinese?
# "Aren't you both also Americans" in Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-11)

> Aren't you both also Americans?  
> Nǐmen dōu ye bù shì měi guó rén ma?

Is it correct? I am comfortable with this word order. Is it acceptable?

**Tags:** translation, writing-critique

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: preferred word order:  也都 see comment #2 of https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/30098/is-the-position-of-%e9%83%bd-in-a-sentence-important-example-inside  confirmed by iciba's 9 examples for 也都，only ３ for  都也  ("not" missing ?)  
> **username_1**: of course "you both" could be translated as ＂你们两个人＂ or even 你们俩（人） (to specify 2, lost with 都)  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-06-11. Score: 3

> 你们（都）也不是美国人吗？你们也（都）不是美国人吗？
>
> Nǐmén (dōu) yě búshì měiguórén ma? Nǐmén yě (dōu) búshì měiguórén ma?
>
> Are (both/all of) you also not Americans?

In this case, you're inquiring your targets whether they are also not Americans, just like you or some other people.

> 你们不也（都）是美国人吗？
>
> Nǐmén bu/bú/bù yě (dōu) shì měiguórén ma?
>
> Aren't you (both/all) also Americans?

This is a rhetorical question to make a point that **you're under the impression that both/all your targets are also Americans**, like you or some other people. There are three possible ways to pronounce the 不 with bu being the most casual tone and bù being the most serious.

Gist: 也 is "also", 都 is "both/all". 不也都 signals that the question is rhetorical. Depending on the exact sentence you wish to construct, you should omit 也 ("also") or 都 ("both/all").

As per the comments by [username_1](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/users/6065/username_1), it's also correct to use the following rhetorical questions if you're addressing exactly two people.

> 你俩不也都是美国人吗？
> Nǐliǎ ...
>
> 你们俩不也都是美国人吗？
> Nǐménliǎ ...
>
> 你们两个不也都是美国人吗？
> Nǐmén liǎng'ge ...
>
> 你们两人不也都是美国人吗？
> Nǐmén liǎngrén ...
>
> 你们两个人不也都是美国人吗？
> Nǐmén liǎng'gè rén ...

These five rhetorical questions all share the meaning of "Aren't you two also both Americans?"

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: users note that 你们两个人 etc. was edited into answer 18 min after appearing in comment #2  
> **username_2**: @username_1 You have just been given credit.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I have made a non-trivial edit to the answer.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-06-12. Score: 0

"Aren't you both also Americans." is ambiguous.

1.（I know you both have Chinese passports,） aren't you both also Americans?  
(我知道你们都有中国的护照，)你们两个难道不也还是美国人吗？（除了中国护照你们还有美国护照吗？）

2.（I'm American,） aren't you two both also Americans?  
（我是美国人，）你们俩也是，难道不是吗？

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: “我知道你们都有中国的护照，你们两个难道不也还是美国人吗？” is a contrived sentence that doesn't make logical sense. To make this complete, you have to say the following instead: “我是美国人，我知道你们都有中国的护照，你们两个难道不也还是美国人吗？” In all, context is important.  
> **username_3**: I know, my Chinese friends could not understand that the English could be ambiguous. That does not fit Chinese logic at all. They said, I don't understand the English correctly!  
> **username_2**: Yeah, exactly...  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-06-11. Score: 0

> Nǐmen dōu ye bù shì měi guó rén ma? (你们都也不是美国人吗？)

The correct order is 你们(两个)不也(都)是美国人吗？

你们不也是美国人吗？or 你们两个不也是美国人吗？， without 都， sounds more natural **to me**.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: It is optional to omit 都 in all three cases here, but it doesn't make the sentence more natural or less.  
> **username_4**: @username_2 I don't know. To me, 我觉得 *你们不也是美国人吗？or 你们两个不也是美国人吗* 说起来更顺一些. Of course, it's not about right or wrong. Anyways, this is just opinion-based.  
> **username_0**: Thanks.. but if I keep bushi together and place ye before it, is it still.. correct :(  ?? Like I can?  
> **username_4**: @username_0 unfortunately, 也不是 still doesn't fit for this sentence. 你们也不是美国人吗？ doesn't sound right.  
> **username_4**: @username_0 I just realized 你们也不是美国人吗 is actually a correct sentence, but it means differently. It means you guys are not Americans as well? Well,  你们不也是美国人吗 means "aren't you both also Americans?". So, you see the difference?  

---

