I can say who's in my family and how many of us there are, say “I don't have…”, ask “how many children do you have?”, and put two and the measure word in the right place: 两个孩子, not 两孩子.
I have: 有, 没有, and the measure word 个
I have: 有, 没有, and the measure word 个
What for: to say who is in your family and how many of you there are.
有 is English “have”: 我有… “I have …”. The negative is only 没有; there's no ×不有, even though English says “don't have”.
Between a number and a noun there's always a measure word — like “piece” in “three pieces of paper”, only always: 一个哥哥. 个 is the most general measure word; others will come with their topics.
“Two” before a measure word is 两: 两个孩子. 二 is for counting and inside a number: 一、二、三; 二十二.
The question “how many?” is 几 + 个: 你有几个哥哥？(Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè gēge?) After 没有 there's no number and no 个, even for English “a”: 我没有哥哥 (wǒ méiyǒu gēge).
For the size of a whole family, use the set phrase 你家有几口人？(Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?) — the answer is 三口人, 四口人. 口 is used only here.
和 joins only “who / what” words (nouns and pronouns): 爸爸和妈妈, 妈妈和我. Unlike English “and”, it never joins two sentences.
Common mistakes:
• ×我不有哥哥 → 我没有哥哥 (wǒ méiyǒu gēge).
• ×家豪有两儿子, ×家豪有二个儿子 → 家豪有两个儿子 (Jiāháo yǒu liǎng gè érzi).
• ×我有哥哥和我有姐姐 → 我有哥哥和姐姐 (wǒ yǒu gēge hé jiějie).
Family: words for relatives
Older and younger brothers and sisters are different words.
| Word | Pinyin | Who it is |
|---|---|---|
| 爸爸 | bàba | dad |
| 妈妈 | māma | mom |
| 哥哥 | gēge | older brother |
| 姐姐 | jiějie | older sister |
| 弟弟 | dìdi | younger brother |
| 妹妹 | mèimei | younger sister |
| 儿子 | érzi | son |
| 女儿 | nǚ'ér | daughter |
| 孩子 | háizi | child, children |
| 丈夫 | zhàngfu | husband |
| 妻子 | qīzi | wife |
有 / 没有 and the measure word 个
A measure word always comes between the number and the noun.
| What | Example |
|---|---|
| + | 家豪有两个儿子。(Jiāháo yǒu liǎng gè érzi.) |
| − | 家豪没有女儿。(Jiāháo méiyǒu nǚ'ér.) |
| ? | 家豪有孩子吗？(Jiāháo yǒu háizi ma?) |
| how many? | 家豪有几个孩子？(Jiāháo yǒu jǐ gè háizi?) |
Lesson notes
I have: 有, 没有, and the measure word 个
What for: to say who is in your family and how many of you there are.
有 is English “have”: 我有… “I have …”. The negative is only 没有; there's no ×不有, even though English says “don't have”.
Between a number and a noun there's always a measure word — like “piece” in “three pieces of paper”, only always: 一个哥哥. 个 is the most general measure word; others will come with their topics.
“Two” before a measure word is 两: 两个孩子. 二 is for counting and inside a number: 一、二、三; 二十二.
The question “how many?” is 几 + 个: 你有几个哥哥？(Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè gēge?) After 没有 there's no number and no 个, even for English “a”: 我没有哥哥 (wǒ méiyǒu gēge).
For the size of a whole family, use the set phrase 你家有几口人？(Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?) — the answer is 三口人, 四口人. 口 is used only here.
和 joins only “who / what” words (nouns and pronouns): 爸爸和妈妈, 妈妈和我. Unlike English “and”, it never joins two sentences.
Common mistakes:
• ×我不有哥哥 → 我没有哥哥 (wǒ méiyǒu gēge).
• ×家豪有两儿子, ×家豪有二个儿子 → 家豪有两个儿子 (Jiāháo yǒu liǎng gè érzi).
• ×我有哥哥和我有姐姐 → 我有哥哥和姐姐 (wǒ yǒu gēge hé jiějie).