Learn the key pattern to talk about your spouse and children
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how the teacher asks, |
| "Is this your family?" |
| 这是你的家人吗？ |
| First is 这 (zhè), "this." 这. 这。 |
| Next is 是 (shì), in this case, it's like the "is," in "This is…." 是. 是。 |
| After this is 你的 (nǐ de), meaning, "your." 你的。 |
| There are two parts: |
| First is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你. 你。 |
| Second is 的 (de),a possessive-marking particle. 的. 的。 |
| Think of 的 as a way to indicate possession. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks 你, "you," as the possessor. |
| Together, 你的 (nǐ de), "your." 你的。 |
| Next is 家人 (jiārén), "family." 家人。 |
| This has two parts: |
| First is 家 (jiā), "home" or "family." 家 家. |
| Next is 人 (rén), "person" or "people." 人. 人. |
| Together, it's 家人, literally "home people," but translates as "family." 家人. |
| Last is 吗 (ma). This is a question-marking particle. It turns a sentence into a question. 吗. 吗. |
| All together, it's 这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?) "This is your family?" but it translates as "Is this your family?" 这是你的家人吗？ |
| Remember this question. You'll hear it again later. |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Karen says, |
| "Yes, it is. This is my husband, son, daughter, and me." |
| 是的。这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, nǚér hé wǒ.) |
| There are two parts to the response: |
| First is 是的 (shì de), which translates as "Yes, [it is]," in this context. 是的. |
| This starts with 是 (shì), meaning "yes," when responding to a yes-no question. 是. 是. |
| Note: 是 is used to affirmatively answer questions that contain 是, like |
| 这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?) "Is this your family?" |
| By replying with 是 (shì), you are affirming the information in the question. |
| It's followed by 的 (de), which, in this case, is a sentence-final particle that indicates the speaker is certain about what he or she is saying. 的 (de). |
| Together, 是的 is a set phrase meaning "Yes, [it is]." 是的。 |
| Note: "it is," is understood from context, as this is a response to the question. |
| After this, Karen points to the picture, and says, |
| 这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。 |
| (Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi , nǚér hé wǒ.) |
| "This is my husband, son, daughter, and me." |
| First is 这是 (zhè), "this" 这。 |
| Next is 是 (shì), in this case, it's like the "is," in "This is…." 是. |
| Together, 这是, "this is." 这是。 |
| After this, 我的, meaning "my." 我的。 |
| There are two parts: |
| First is 我 (Wǒ), "I." 我. 我。 |
| Next is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的。 |
| Together, 我的, "my." 我的。 |
| Next is 先生 (xiānsheng). The formal way to say "husband." 先生. 先生. |
| Together, 我的先生 , "my husband." 我的先生 。 |
| Next is 儿子 (érzi), "son." 儿子. 儿子。 |
| After this is 女儿 (nǚér), "daughter." 女儿. 女儿。 |
| Next is 和 (hé), "and" 和. 和。 |
| Finally, she points at herself in the picture and says 我, translating as "me" in this context. 我。 |
| All together, it's 这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。(Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, nǚér hé wǒ.) |
| "This is my husband, son, daughter, and me." |
| 这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。 |
| The pattern is: |
| 这是 我的 {family member} 、{family member} 、{family member}和我。 |
| "This is my {family member} ，{family member} ，{family member}, and me." |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {family member} placeholders with your family members. |
| Imagine your family members are your wife, son, daughter, and you. |
| Wife is 太太 (tàitai). 太太. 太太. |
| Say |
| "This is my wife, son, daughter, and me." |
| Ready? |
| 这是我的太太、儿子、女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒde tàitai, érzi, nǚér hé wǒ.) |
| "This is my wife, my son, my daughter, and me." |
| 这是我的太太、儿子、女儿和我。 |
| In this lesson, you learned two relatively formal words for husband and wife. |
| 先生 (xiānsheng), "husband," and 太太 (tàitai), "wife." |
| In less formal situations, the following words are commonly used: |
| 老公 (lǎogōng), "husband." 老公. 老公. |
| 老婆 (lǎopo), "wife." 老婆. 老婆. |
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